lilacsigil (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lilacsigil) wrote2012-01-04 11:58 am
lilacsigil) wrote2012-01-04 11:58 am
Fic: A Breeze in a Musizi Tree, X-Men/DCU, Storm/Wonder Woman, PG
Written for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
zellieh for Fandom Stocking. 900 words.
Ororo knew that the Themysciran ambassador, Diana, was looking for her, but Ororo didn't want to be found. She and T'Challa were in Kampala to discuss trade between their countries but first, as always, were the social events, attracting everyone: the wealthiest, the movers and shakers, the military, and of course visiting or local diplomats from every other country. Ororo couldn't stand hearing another well-rehearsed platitude about her wedding, or the trials of moving to a new country, or how lovely her hair looked.
She caught herself thinking that the next person to fondle her hair was going to get a quick lesson in conflict resolution, X-Men style. That was when she knew it was time to get away from the crowded ballroom and all its claustrophobic chatter and cold-blooded negotiation. Ororo stepped out the French windows to the balcony, then hauled up the skirt of the long silk gomesi she was wearing to honour the hosts, pleased that it was considerably looser than Wakandan formal clothing. She climbed, with a little boost from an idle breeze, up the tall, bare trunk of a musizi tree into the broad canopy. T'Challa would be all right on his own for a while.
"I see I'm not the only one driven out by idle chatter," a voice said, and Ororo turned to see a broad-shouldered, olive-skinned woman even taller than herself, sitting comfortably on a broad branch. She was dressed in a simple white gown with embroidery across the square neck, and her only jewellery was a pair of golden cuffs at her wrists. This must be Diana, then.
"You were the one I was avoiding, to be honest," Ororo replied, but floated up to sit next to her. "My husband tells me that all the idle chatter is supposed to help form connections between the powerful of different nations. Of course, he says this with his fists clenched."
"And you say it as if you're about to stab someone," Diana smiled. "Though from what I've heard of you, that's not beyond the realm of possibility."
Ororo smiled back. "It frustrates me so much that as we pass around the canapés, there are little girls being kidnapped and used as rebel soldiers right here in Uganda."
"You'd rather fly out and fight them. So would I." Diana was staring into the distance, her jaw set.
"And if we do, without permission from the Ugandan government, we hurt Wakanda – we need Ugandan copper. And having the attention of the Ugandan military on foreign superheroes rather than their real opponents means that no-one will be able to help those girls.." Ororo could feel Diana's warmth radiating from her body in the cool of the evening. "You're here to help the programs that rehabilitate the kidnapped girls and their children, yes?"
"I want to fly off into the night and rescue a dozen girls but then I will have insulted the government and kept help from a hundred more girls. Not to mention stirring up trouble for the people who live in the rebel-held areas."
Ororo shrugged. "You've done it before."
"I'm trying to learn from my mistakes." Diana turned her brilliant smile on Ororo. "I still wish I could give this gift direct from my mother to the women it needs to help, but no, there has to be accountability. And infrastructure."
Ororo laughed. "I've only been married a few months, but I've come to hate that word. I'd rather fight the Brood – yes, in space – every day for the rest of my life than plan infrastructure ever again."
"And if you did, everyone would pity your husband for his wayward wife, just as they'd pity my mother for her wayward daughter!"
Both laughed, and Diana put her arm around Ororo's shoulders, a friendly gesture; Ororo leaned into her strong body, a light breeze playing around them and teasing at Diana's wavy hair.
"That's you? The wind?" Diana didn't sound alarmed, just interested.
"People always say I control weather, but it's not true. It's more like we listen to each other."
"As we are now?"
Their voices were soft.
"It's more intimate than that. More like – " Ororo didn't need to finish the sentence as Diana leaned in and they kissed each other.
The breeze stirred their clothes and hair as they embraced, strong arms around smooth skin, but it was a warm and gentle current, fluttering the leaves of the musizi tree around them.
The two women broke apart, though not far, smiling.
"Thank you," Ororo told Diana. "I needed to remember why I'm here."
"To engage with ambassadors?"
The air cheekily flicked at the hem of Diana's dress.
"To remember to be human." She touched Diana's lips with her fingers – an act forbidden in this country. "And to remember to fight together, not apart."
Diana held out her hand and they flew lightly to the ground, Ororo rearranging the disarrayed sash of her gomesi, Diana combing back her hair with her fingers. The close swirl of the ballroom awaited them – the politics, the hatred, the desperation – and Ororo sent her breeze through the French doors into the room, refreshing everyone as she herself felt refreshed.
T'Challa was by her side in a moment. "Better?"
"I'm almost ready to talk infrastructure! But first, let me introduce you to Diana, the Ambassador-at-large of Themyscira. We have a lot to discuss."
zellieh for Fandom Stocking. 900 words.Ororo knew that the Themysciran ambassador, Diana, was looking for her, but Ororo didn't want to be found. She and T'Challa were in Kampala to discuss trade between their countries but first, as always, were the social events, attracting everyone: the wealthiest, the movers and shakers, the military, and of course visiting or local diplomats from every other country. Ororo couldn't stand hearing another well-rehearsed platitude about her wedding, or the trials of moving to a new country, or how lovely her hair looked.
She caught herself thinking that the next person to fondle her hair was going to get a quick lesson in conflict resolution, X-Men style. That was when she knew it was time to get away from the crowded ballroom and all its claustrophobic chatter and cold-blooded negotiation. Ororo stepped out the French windows to the balcony, then hauled up the skirt of the long silk gomesi she was wearing to honour the hosts, pleased that it was considerably looser than Wakandan formal clothing. She climbed, with a little boost from an idle breeze, up the tall, bare trunk of a musizi tree into the broad canopy. T'Challa would be all right on his own for a while.
"I see I'm not the only one driven out by idle chatter," a voice said, and Ororo turned to see a broad-shouldered, olive-skinned woman even taller than herself, sitting comfortably on a broad branch. She was dressed in a simple white gown with embroidery across the square neck, and her only jewellery was a pair of golden cuffs at her wrists. This must be Diana, then.
"You were the one I was avoiding, to be honest," Ororo replied, but floated up to sit next to her. "My husband tells me that all the idle chatter is supposed to help form connections between the powerful of different nations. Of course, he says this with his fists clenched."
"And you say it as if you're about to stab someone," Diana smiled. "Though from what I've heard of you, that's not beyond the realm of possibility."
Ororo smiled back. "It frustrates me so much that as we pass around the canapés, there are little girls being kidnapped and used as rebel soldiers right here in Uganda."
"You'd rather fly out and fight them. So would I." Diana was staring into the distance, her jaw set.
"And if we do, without permission from the Ugandan government, we hurt Wakanda – we need Ugandan copper. And having the attention of the Ugandan military on foreign superheroes rather than their real opponents means that no-one will be able to help those girls.." Ororo could feel Diana's warmth radiating from her body in the cool of the evening. "You're here to help the programs that rehabilitate the kidnapped girls and their children, yes?"
"I want to fly off into the night and rescue a dozen girls but then I will have insulted the government and kept help from a hundred more girls. Not to mention stirring up trouble for the people who live in the rebel-held areas."
Ororo shrugged. "You've done it before."
"I'm trying to learn from my mistakes." Diana turned her brilliant smile on Ororo. "I still wish I could give this gift direct from my mother to the women it needs to help, but no, there has to be accountability. And infrastructure."
Ororo laughed. "I've only been married a few months, but I've come to hate that word. I'd rather fight the Brood – yes, in space – every day for the rest of my life than plan infrastructure ever again."
"And if you did, everyone would pity your husband for his wayward wife, just as they'd pity my mother for her wayward daughter!"
Both laughed, and Diana put her arm around Ororo's shoulders, a friendly gesture; Ororo leaned into her strong body, a light breeze playing around them and teasing at Diana's wavy hair.
"That's you? The wind?" Diana didn't sound alarmed, just interested.
"People always say I control weather, but it's not true. It's more like we listen to each other."
"As we are now?"
Their voices were soft.
"It's more intimate than that. More like – " Ororo didn't need to finish the sentence as Diana leaned in and they kissed each other.
The breeze stirred their clothes and hair as they embraced, strong arms around smooth skin, but it was a warm and gentle current, fluttering the leaves of the musizi tree around them.
The two women broke apart, though not far, smiling.
"Thank you," Ororo told Diana. "I needed to remember why I'm here."
"To engage with ambassadors?"
The air cheekily flicked at the hem of Diana's dress.
"To remember to be human." She touched Diana's lips with her fingers – an act forbidden in this country. "And to remember to fight together, not apart."
Diana held out her hand and they flew lightly to the ground, Ororo rearranging the disarrayed sash of her gomesi, Diana combing back her hair with her fingers. The close swirl of the ballroom awaited them – the politics, the hatred, the desperation – and Ororo sent her breeze through the French doors into the room, refreshing everyone as she herself felt refreshed.
T'Challa was by her side in a moment. "Better?"
"I'm almost ready to talk infrastructure! But first, let me introduce you to Diana, the Ambassador-at-large of Themyscira. We have a lot to discuss."