Title: "First Snowfall"
Author: carpesomediem
Fandom: X-Men
Pairing: Jean/Storm
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1045
Author's Notes: I claim no ownership. Marvel Enterprises did that a long, long time ago. This takes place before X-Men 2: United. I love Jean/Storm, whether it be in the comic-verse or movie-verse, and there's certainly not enough of them out there.
Summary: Even when the weather change, some things still stay the same.
"Is this your doing?" Jean asked, finding Storm standing on a remote landing outside the school. It was a place Storm often went when she needed to be alone; Jean just happened to stumble upon it one day after the Liberty Island fiasco. Neither knew the other used it as a place to collect thoughts after a turbulent day, and lately, there'd been a lot of turbulent days. Everyone knew dark days were coming; it was just a matter of time before they showed up looking for trouble.
"Yes," Storm turned to face her. Jean could tell easily she had something on her mind; Storm was adept at keeping her feelings to herself in moments like this. "The weather's turned so unpredictable lately. You can't make heads or tails each day. One day it's hot, the next it's freezing, and so far, we've had no real snow."
"And what do you call this?" Jean asked, reaching out to pluck a snowflake out of the air. She looked at it in her bare hand before it evaporated back into the sky.
"It's hardly real if I'm conjuring it," Storm shrugged. "But it's still a nice treat since we haven't had any, and it's almost December."
From the landing, students from the school were bundled up and playing out in the snowfall. Some were ice skating near the pond, others were building snowman and it appeared that Bobby, John and Rogue were engaged in a snow fight. Of course, Bobby had the advantage, but John was really putting on a show for Rogue. She shook her head as John fried snowballs Bobby launched at him.
The snow fell lightly, but it was accumulating thanks to the cold front on the east coast. Real snow was supposed to fall that weekend, but so far, only Storm's playfulness had made the weatherman's predictions true. She loved the snow, she always had since she was a little girl, but she realized as the world around her changed, so did the weather beyond her control.
"Do you think it has anything to do with global warming?" Jean asked, the scientist in her head had her mind buzzing. They were now standing side-by-side, watching the snow fall, when Storm responded.
"I'm sure it does. But it's not the only thing that affects the weather." Storm wasn't just talking about the literal weather.
"Of course not," Jean sighed, running a hand up her left arm as a chill ran through her body.
"You must be cold," Storm noticed Jean wasn't wearing a jacket. "You're going to freeze to death out here."
"Yeah… I forgot..." Storm took a step behind the redhead, running both her hands up and down her arms to try and warm her up before she had a chance to finish that sentence. Jean relaxed into her touch, realizing that a warm front seemed to engulf them both. In a matter of seconds, it felt as if she was sunbathing on the Florida coastline. "Isn't that cheating?"
"There's no rules that say I can't be warm when I create a snow fall," Storm teased. It amazed her that even after all the years, her friends still didn't quite understand just how much control she had over the elements. "Besides, it's beats having to bundle up. That was always my least favorite part of this season."
"Definitely," Jean merely nodded, closing her eyes momentarily and relishing the feel of the shorter woman's hands still on her upper arms. Things had changed since Magneto tried to change the course of human evolution, there were new players in the X-Men, new threats being discovered and Jean knew something worst was coming down on them all. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she knew worst of all that something was changing inside her, and it was only a matter of time before it came out in a fury.
For now, it was coming out as it usually did. But she couldn't stop herself, like so many times before, Jean turned around quickly, leaning down slightly and capturing Storm's lips with her own. The other woman never hesitated, returning the kiss and wrapping her arms around Jean's neck, pulling her closer. Without realizing it, moments like this were what worried her the most, but Jean put those thoughts of her mind as she pulled away and licked her lips slowly.
"I've been waiting for you to do that since you joined me," Storm smiled. This was a dance they'd danced many times before.
"Really?" Jean asked in disbelief. No matter how often it occurred, the momentarily lapses in her emotions surrounding Storm still surprised her.
"Aren't you psychic?" Storm teased, looking up towards the sky as the snow she created mixed with the naturally falling, thicker snow that began coating the ground and them. "Looks like the snow is changing." She closed her eyes and a few seconds later, only mother nature's snow was falling around them. The warm front she created disappeared as well, and now Jean shivered as she realized just how cold it really was out on the landing.
"Maybe I should head inside," Jean said suddenly, once again realizing she couldn't quite give into temptation anymore than she already had, "I have work to do in the lab. The Professor and I are still trying to find a way to expose Mystique. We're still not sure how to approach the President or whether or not we should take care of her on our own and just deal with the repercussions of Senator Kelly's death."
"I understand. I know how busy you always are," Storm replied, nodding.
She didn't quite understand why Jean always felt a need to pull away after giving in, but she knew the doctor had much more on her mind than she was willing to admit. Storm gave her all the space she needed, but she hoped that someday soon, before the tides changed, Jean would give in completely and let her be the ship to ride through the real storm with. She watched, longingly, as Jean strode back into the school and once she was out of eyesight, Storm returned to landing watching as the real snow made the winter seem that much more alive.