Subject: [OTL]: Chasing the Cold Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 20:16:09 -0800 (PST) From: DuAnn Cowart This is rated PG. Not really all that naughty, but adult themes anyway. Not my usual characters, so this is a bit of an experiment. Feedback seriously craved. Many thanks to Falstaff for the title. Merry Christmas, all! Blessings of the season be with you. Chasing the Cold ~~She rolled over in their huge bed, nestling closer to him, instinctively seeking the heat from his body. The New Mexico nights were cold, but his skin was hot against hers, a side effect of the abilities that had alternately tormented and delighted him his entire life. She really didn't mind- she'd slept beside this man long enough to be accustomed to the heat. She studied his profile in the dim light the desert stars provided through the windows. Fine, silky blond hair, a proud nose, chiseled features- he looked like any number of the male models that populated the GQ magazines he insisted on subscribing to even here in the desert. Mmmm, he was handsome, she thought for the thousandth time, taking his hand in hers, shivering at the memory of what those hands could do. . . The warm cotton sheets were soft against her bare skin, and she shifted slightly, savoring the indulgence of the purely physical sensations she was experiencing. Running her fingers lightly over his muscled chest, she delighted in the normalcy of it all. In spite of the fantastic battles they'd fought, the technicolor manipulations they'd suffered through, she'd finally attained her heart's desire. She was safe, with the man she loved, doing an exciting, fulfilling job she loved. She knew who she was- there was no more wondering about who or what she might have been. Sensing her movement, he draped a muscled arm around her, drawing her closer to him. Blue eyes opened sleepily. "Having trouble sleeping?" His quiet voice asked through a yawn. They'd both had more than a few sleepless nights when they'd first come here. "Not anymore," she answered honestly. Raising a hand to his face, she lightly traced the outline of his strong jawline, pressed herself even closer to him, delighting in his body's reaction to her. "How about you, Alex?" Her voice was light, playful. "Want to go back to sleep?" She sensed rather than saw his answering smile. Brushing a lock of green hair away from her face, he lowered his face to hers. "What do *you* think?" Still sheltered in the curve of his arms, she arched her back in pleasure as he nuzzled her neck, hands skillfully moving over her body. "I think I love you." "I love you, too, Lorna," he whispered hoarsely, then went on to show her just how much~~ Lorna Dane moaned in her sleep, caught in the throes of yet another erotic dream. "Oh, Alex," she whispered, lips parted in ecstasy, tossing in her huge empty bed. She saw, she felt flashes of his hands, his mouth, their bodies twined together- and then, without warning, the images shattered as her whole life exploded in a ball of burning fire in the sky. She watched, horrified, unable to turn away as chunks of the plane fell to the earth. She tried to use her magnetic powers to catch them, but she couldn't get them all, they were falling too fast, and they were burnt, and Alex was burnt, and Alex was dead, and she would never see him or feel him again and he'd never know how much she still loved him- "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She woke up, screaming, pulling the blankets closer to her, unable to bear yet another freezing night alone. New Mexico, again- Dammit, why did she always have to dream of New Mexico? Why did she always remember the place where they'd been happiest, far away from the X-Men and the cause and the fight for mutant rights and X-Factor and everyone else but themselves? Why, of all the places they'd been, all the things they'd seen, did her dreams always return her to their small house in the desert? With a flick of her powers, Lorna moved the thermostat in the hall up several degrees. It was cold in her house alone. She lay back down in the quilted comforters, long limbs curled up into a small ball, unable to get warm. She didn't sleep. ________________ She rolled over in their huge bed, nestling closer to him, instinctively seeking his warmth. The New York nights were cold, and her sleep was colder, but his skin was as hot as always against hers. She didn't mind- his heat staved off the coldness inside her, his bright fire ignited the dying embers inside her, helped keep the icy shadows at bay. She studied her husband in the dim light of the castle. He was still the handsomest man she'd ever known. The last few years had been hard on them all, she reflected, but despite a few lines around the eyes and a scant few strands of silver in the gold Alex looked much the same as he had when they'd first met. She was glad their son favored him so much, in appearance and in the cool intelligence he already exibited at so early an age. 'Scotty,' she thought again of her son, sleeping safely in his nursery. Her golden angel, the living, breathing proof that she was capable of love and worthy of her place in humanity. He was her reason for living. Whatever price she'd had to pay to ensure his safetly had been well worth it. Still, though- it was so cold, and she was so tired. It was growing increasingly more difficult to fight the dark voices, the repulsive creatures that called to her when she let down her guard even for a minute, the demons that some dark part of her longed to join. She was growing so, so tired. The man beside her murmured something in his sleep, and she leaned closer to better hear him. "What, Alex? Do you need something, honey?" He was mumbling incoherently, fighting off a nightmare. Wrapping her arms tightly around him, she gently slipped into his mind and soothed the troubled thoughts, easing him back into peace, wishing her own fears could be calmed so easily. She noted a bit clinically how much cleaner his thoughts were. The effects of whatever it had been that had upset him so badly those months ago- whatever it was that had made him think he was not really her Alex Summers but instead the Alex Summers from an alternate dimension, a claim that would have been laughable had it not been *her* husband making it- had finally subsided enough that Alex had almost fully returned to his role as husband, father and leader of the Six. She curled closer to him, idly running her fingers over his well muscled chest. He had certainly returned to his role as lover well enough- though he'd protested for a while after the 'incident', as she'd referred to it, it hadn't taken her long to convince him to return to her bed. Alex had always been a man of strong appetites; they'd always complemented each other very well in that regards. She smiled softly, lowering her mouth to nip gently at his ear, letting his warmth swell through her. Even in the middle of the fantastic battles they fought on a daily basis, the darkness that sometimes threatened to overshadow their lives and her soul, she'd finally attained her life's goal. She was fighting the good fight with the man she loved and friends she for the most part respected. She finally knew who she was- she almost never wondered about where she came from anymore. She tried not to wonder where she was going. She nuzzled his neck, long red hair spilling across his chest, pale hands caressing his flesh. Blue eyes opened sleepily, widening slightly, then creasing in the corners as he smiled. "Hey, you." His sleep-roughened voice was soft as he wrapped strong arms around her, pulling her closer to him. She leaned down to kiss him. "Trouble sleeping?" She asked, sultry voice smooth and low. He'd had more than a few sleepless nights the last few months. "As a matter of fact, yes," he answered, a warm, teasing smile on his face. "Some gorgeous red-haired vixen was terrorizing my dreams, doing horribly perverse things to my poor helpless self-" "Tsk tsk tsk. You poor baby," she answered, shaking her head back and forth, a mock sympathetic look on her face. "Awful, isn't it." He pulled her atop him with a broad smile. "Just terrible." She moved her hips slightly. He moaned in response. "Maddie-" His eyes closed, and she murmured wordlessly, moving in the way she knew pleased him, pleased them both. To her startlement, he sat up, back pressed flat against the headboard, pulling her into his lap. Her head tilted slightly, a bit surprised. This wasn't like him. He stared at her for several long minutes, and she was silent, respecting his obvious struggle for words. "Maddie, I- I don't know if I've told you lately how much being here has meant-" he closed his eyes, shook his head "truly *means* to me. How much Scotty and. . . you. . . really mean to me." She stared at him, green eyes welling with emotion. "Alex- I-" The darkness in her shrank to almost nothingness. "It's been so long since I've heard you talk like this-" "I know, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Maddie. I promise this time I'll be everything you need me to be. I won't let you down again." His eyes seemed haunted with memories of another time, another place. "But Alex, you've never-" "Shhhh," he interrupted, gently stroking her face, her neck, hand dipping down to lightly massage her shoulders, warm fingers trailing down her arms, her chest. She felt trails of fire warm her blood. "Maddie, I need you to listen to me. This is the first time in so very long I've felt truly- accepted. I feel . . . whole here. I feel like I belong." Her brows knit in puzzlement. "Of course you do. Alex, we're your family. Where else would you be?" A strange, fleeting expression crossed his face, but he shook his head quickly, clearing away the images before she could read them in his mind. "Maddie- I can honestly tell you- there's nowhere else in this world I'd rather be than here with you." "Then show me," she whispered, the bright fire in her eyes burning through the shadows. Pushing him back down, his square hands encircled her waist, pulling her back atop him. They began moving slowly in unison, in an ageless rythym that transcended time and space. She held him close to her, murmuring "Show me, Alex, and chase the cold away." This may grow into a series- I haven't decided yet. Let me know what you think! God bless you all, and Merry Christmas! === -DuAnn Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you. Not as the world gives, give I unto you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. -John 14:27