Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men or anyone else previously appearing in the X-Books. I do own Rafe Wallace, his family and the Bennett family.
Note: This story takes place two and a half years after Where The Heart Is ends. Excalibur has disbanded and Kitty, Kurt and Peter have rejoined the X-Men.
THE BEST LAID PLANS
PART ONE
"Kitten, is Melissa here? I thought I heard her voice a moment ago."
"Yeah, you did. She’s gone down to the med. lab to see Hank again."
"Well, she certainly is dedicated. Since she decided she wants to become a doctor, she has become almost a permanent fixture to Hank’s hip."
"Oh, he doesn’t mind it. You know how much he loves talking about medicine. He must be walking on air now that he’s found someone who actually wants to listen."
"Indeed."
"Speaking of the Wallace line, I haven’t seen Rafe around here much lately."
"We have been seeing each other, just not at the mansion. Is that so odd?"
"Well, he’s practically resident, with the amount of time he usually is here. . ."
"To answer your next question, everything is fine between the two of us. Things could not be better. I have never been happier."
"Good. It’s about time you had a little sunshine in your life."
"Oh, Rafe is much more than that. He is my sun, my moon and my stars."
"So where’s this going, Ororo?"
"I am not thinking of the future, Kitten. There is too much to speculate on. I am just content with what I have this moment."
"No day but today, huh?"
"Precisely."
* * * * *
Natsuko Wallace watched her son and son-in-law from the steps of the backyard patio. The two men were attempting to straighten one of the small trees they were planting. She sighed and walked over to them. When it appeared that the tree was stable, she smacked Rafe over the back of the head with her long sleeve covered arm.
"Oww! Ma? What was that for?!?" Rafe asked, holding his head. He had fallen over from his squatted position and was now looking up at his mother utterly perplexed.
"To knock some sense into you! Why haven’t you asked Ororo to marry you yet? It’s been three years. You must be blind if you don’t see she is the one for you!"
"Uh, I think I’m going to get a drink—in the house." David said realizing he didn’t need to be there.
Rafe dropped his hand. He lowered his eyes and slowly began shaking his head.
"Ma. . . I’ve already tried. Four times in fact! I even have the ring! But every time I go to ask her. . . I just—can’t!"
"Why? Why can’t you?"
"{Sigh} Why would she want to marry me? What have I got to offer her?"
"Besides love? Besides yourself?"
"It takes more than love to make a marriage work ma, you know that."
"Yes, and it’s because you know that, I know, you will make it work. Ororo’s a smart woman. I’m sure she knows that too. Are you maybe afraid she doesn’t feel the same for you as you do for her?"
"No, I know she feels the same way about me."
"Then what is it?
". . . She’s been proposed to before and it didn’t work out—obviously. The guy asked her to marry him, then when she wanted to think about it, he retracted the proposal and left with another woman. I don’t know if there was anything going on with him and this woman, but it was still a pretty shi—a pretty rotten thing to do to her.
"I don’t know if Ororo has noticed but the X-Men keep a very close eye on her and are very protective. I don’t know how they’d feel about me asking her, they might think that I’m just another Forge—that’s that other guy’s name. They’re her family. What they think means everything to her. If I asked her, and they were against us getting married, Ororo would never be happy."
"Then why don’t you ask them?"
"What?"
"Ask them how they would feel about you and she getting married. Your father asked my father."
"He did? Isn’t that kind of archaic?"
"No. A marriage is more that two people. It involves the union of two families. By asking Ororo’s kin how they feel about you getting married, you are involving them. They will not feel so much like they are loosing her."
* * * * *
‘God, is someone trying to tell me something?’
One week after the marriage conversation with his mother, the men of the mansion asked Rafe out to Harry’s for a drink. A new high-class shopping center, complete with spa and restaurants, had opened and the ladies had decided to make a day of it. Rafe thought that if this wasn’t someone telling him this was his opportunity, he didn’t know what was. He wasn’t really that worried about what the X-Women were going to say. He got the feeling that they would be all for the match. It was the guys, the big brother complex that was really troubling him.
So here he found himself, surrounded by twelve of Ororo’s "big brothers", several of whom were large enough to effectively crush him if they were so inclined, in a bar, with the beer flowing freely. No pressure.
"Rafe!"
"Huh? What?"
"Jeez, buddy! How was space when you left it? We borin’ ya that much?"
"No, Bobby. I just have some—things on my mind right now."
"Anything you care to discuss, Rafe?"
All eyes were now on him.
‘Oy.’ "Uh, actually, now that you mention it Hank, there is, something, I—um."
"Rafe, you look like your gonna fall outta that chair."
‘Or make a break for the door.’ "No, I-I’m fine, it’s just that--" ‘Where’s a well placed nuke when you need one.’ "Well, I’ve actually been wanting, to talk to you guys about something." ‘Run. Now!’
"Uh-oh, sounds serious!" Bobby joked. Lemmie guess. . . you wanna ask us for Ororo’s hand in marriage right?" He started laughing, as did the others seated around the table, except of course for Rafe. Rafe cast a sideways glance at Bobby then closed his eyes, and with a sigh, dropped his head heavily onto the table. The laughter awkwardly died away.
"Rafe?"
‘Please, whatever they’re gonna do, make it quick and relatively painless.’
"The icicle was making a joke."
‘The lord is my shepherd. . .’ Rafe took a deep breath and sat up. "It’s not a joke. I want to ask Ororo to marry me and I want to know how you all feel about that."
Multiple silence.
‘Is it me or did the lights just dim in here?’
Scott spoke first. ". . .Um, isn’t that really between you and Ororo?"
"No, I don’t think it is. I know how much your opinion, all of you, how much it means to her. You’re her family, and I know you’re looking out for her." He paused. "I know about Forge and how he treated her, and you have to believe me when I tell you I could never treat Ororo like that. I would never dream of taking her away from you. An X-Man isn’t what she does, it’s who she is, and I understand that." ‘He didn’t.’ "{Sigh} But as much as I love Ororo, I can’t marry her if you all are against it. She would never be happy that way—and all I want out of this life is to make her happy."
". . . "
"Come on. Someone say something—blast my head off, freeze my blood, slice me into ribbons—do something. . . besides--just--staring at me like that."
". . ."
Logan, who was sitting to Rafe’s left, moved his hand towards him.
‘Here it comes. . .’
The fist opened up, to grasp Rafe’s.
"Welcome to the family, kid." He shook Rafe’s hand. The others joined in on the welcome. Rafe was honestly surprised.
"Uh, well, thanks! Um, but I think I’d better discuss this with Ororo before I’m really welcomed. She might want to have a say in all of this."
* * * * *
"Penny for your thoughts."
"Hmm? Pardon? Oh, sorry."
"What’s wrong Ororo?"
"Nothing is wrong really. Just, the everyone has been acting rather peculiar towards me lately."
"Really?"
"Well, not everyone. The men in the house have been. . . I do not know, behaving-- weird the past two days."
"I don’t believe I’ve ever heard you use that word: weird."
"It seems to fit best. They have been staring, smiling, smirking and whispering. Conversations abruptly end when I enter the room. It is—weird."
"Probably nothing, love."
They were walking through Central Park. The sun had set only minutes ago but the moon was shining brightly. The conflicting light was beautiful.
‘You ask her tonight, or you don’t ask.’
"Your turn."
"What?"
"What are you thinking about."
"You."
"What about me?"
"Everything about you."
Ororo smiled and hugged Rafe’s arm.
"You know, I love to see your smile. I want to see at it for the rest of the evening."
Ororo laughed.
"And I want to see it tomorrow."
"If you like."
"And I want to see it sixty years from now."
". . . What?"
They stopped walking. Ororo was looking at him oddly.
"Arashi, I— you know how much I love you and I think you know I will always love you."
". . . Yes."
"I wanted— I want to ask you— I mean, I would be honored if— will you— Oh, Jeez—here!"
He took his hand out of his coat pocket and handed her a small black box. She opened it.
"Rafe. . ."
"I’ve been trying to ask you this for the longest time. I’ve rehearsed it in my head, in the mirror, to the ducks in the park. . . I wanted this to be memorable, something special, but nothing seemed special enough. So, all I can say. . . all I can do is ask. . . Ororo, will you marry me?"
"I-I . . . Marry???" She was shocked. Ororo had not been expecting this at all.
"You don’t have to answer me right now, I mean, I understand you’ll probably want to think about it. I mean, it’s a really big decision and everything, and so I don’t want you to think that I’m pressuring you."
"Rafe, I--"
"And I’m not asking you to leave the X-Men or anything, I know how important they are to you and if you wanted to keep living there at the mansion I wouldn’t have a problem with that either, and yomnmnnd--"
Storm had clasped a hand over his mouth.
"Will you stop! You are rambling!
"{Sigh} Sorry, I was just—really afraid to hear the word "no" right now."
"You would not have heard me say "no". You could not even here me when I said "yes", what with the way you were carrying on."
"Uh—did you just say that you said "yes"."
"Yes, you just heard me say that I had said "yes"."
"Yes???"
"I am leaving." She turned and started to walk away. He playfully grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. He saw she was laughing.
"Okay, alright, I’m sorry, again! Just-- indulge me this one final time. Ororo Monroe, will you marry me?"
"Rafe Wallace, there is nothing I would like more. Yes, I will marry you!"