By: Didi
Disclaimer: Marvel, Stan Lee and all the stockholders of Marvel Enterprises hold all rights to the characters currently being mutilated in this story. Any questions?
Summary: Christmas is a time for family, friends and loved ones.
Rating: PG
Author's Note: This will be the forth in my Jubilee/Northstar series. I'm having some trouble understanding why these two characters fit so well together even though it seems unlikely. Nothing romantic or anything like that but… hum…. It may be that loner mentality that you sense in Northstar that makes Jubilee a good companion for him. She's been kind of the companion to the best of the loners. I had started this in early December, and originally titled it "Silent Night," for obvious reasons. But illness caught me by surprised and I didn't get to finish it until now. Hope it's still readable.
~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~
Snowflakes drifted gently around the heart-stopping peaceful scene before him. It was like the still shot entitled "Purity" he had seen once in the Musée de Paris. But there was a tension that sat in the air which did not fit into this picture; an apprehension that now had him clinching his teeth and treading carefully forward, not daring to so much as breathe too hard in fear that it may incite something he couldn't stop, even with his given talents.
"Should I even ask?"
"No," came the lackluster reply.
"Does anyone else know you're here?"
"No," in the same weary tone.
"Are you not cold?" another step closer but still too far to be effective. Fortunately, he was beginning to feel slightly silly. There was nothing even apparently dangerous about the scene before him now that he's had a closer look. She appeared in no hurry to move at all.
"No."
"Are you going to say anything besides no?" more than close enough now to do something in case his now relaxed instincts were wrong.
There was a pause… then, "No."
A heavy, much put-upon sigh resounded before a heavy jacket fell across Jubilee's frozen shoulders. A soft whiff of an airy expensive cologne drifted gently around her in an almost comforting manner. The jacket was as much a surprise as if the man had dropped his arms around her in a hug.
Turning her head slowly, she gazed up at the icy blue eyes of the last person she thought would ever come looking for her on the rooftop of Xavier's Institution for Higher Learning. Lanky and tall with a shock of white hair and pale European complexion, Jean-Paul Beaubier fitted well into the snow-touched scenery that graced the grounds of the school; even his blue and white uniform reflected his perfect place this world.
Pulling the heavy jacket tighter around herself as tiny snowflakes drafted around her, she asked, "Aren't you cold?"
He raised one brow unsmilingly, "No."
"What are you doing up here?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing, Enfant."
Shrugging shoulders that barely visibly moved under the cumbersome garment, she turned back to the icy fields below. "I came here to think."
Resting his shoulder against a brick wall that was probably part of a chimney, he watched her for a moment, much relieved by the answer but not ever going to reveal that little piece of emotion. "Do you always sit on the edge of the roof on a four story building to think?"
Throwing him a look over her shoulders, "As a matter of fact, yes. I use to go up to the roof of the apartment Angelo and I shared in L.A. to think. And I'm not going to jump if that's what you're afraid of."
Because it had been what he had been afraid of when he pulled into the driveway below and saw the lone, sad figure on the roof, Jean-Paul fell back on his usual arrogance to cover the deep and overwhelming fear he had experienced while running up the stairs at speeds not measurable by most instruments and mentally cursing the illogical minds of every teenage girl in the world. "Of course not. You'd never be so accommodating as to remove your annoying self from my life to give me some semblance of peace. You're too much of a brat for that."
Not the least bite offended and sounding as dull as the dishwater, "Glad that you know."
Surprised because he had been expecting a snappy comeback as was her usual modus operandi Jean-Paul slowly stood away from the wall. She may have assured him that she was not thinking of something drastic but the apprehension was back in full force. "What are you thinking off child?"
For a minute or two, it appeared that she was not about to answer, "I just thinking about things."
"Like?"
"Like friends."
He was tempted to release the breath he had been holding but did not trust the non-expressive tone in her voice. "And which ones would those be?"
"Illyana, Petey, Betsy, Claire, Mondo, Everett, Angelo… you know… friends."
Jean-Paul felt his lung give a painful protest and let out the air to inhale the crisp icy oxygen his body was begging for. "Do you think of them more during the holidays?"
Jubilee shrugged. "It's Christmas. I've got memories of them during Christmas."
"So you're up here in the freezing cold remembering?"
"Yes."
He frowned. "Could you go into the house and sit in front of the fire and remember them?"
Glancing over, she smiled at his less than comfortable stance. "If you're cold, why don't you go in?"
Since he was not about to leave her here alone with nothing but memories of long-dead friends, he shook his head. "I won't be so cold if you were to return my jacket."
Without a thought, she took off the garment and held it out to him.
"For god sake, Enfant, put the damn thing back on."
"But you said…"
"Oh be quiet you, brat," he muttered and tucked her back into the three hundred dollar coat his sister had sent him for Christmas. She looked sweetly endearing in the oversize jacket with only her face poking out of the neckline. "You'll catch your death in this weather."
"It's nice up here."
"It's unbearable up here," he countered grumpily.
"It's quiet."
He stared at her. "I thought you hate it when it's quiet."
"Not this kind of quiet," she replied with a half smile. Reaching out, she tugged on his hand until he was sitting by her side. Opening the jacket, she wrapped one arm around him and enclosed them both in the heavy coat. "This is the kind of quiet that makes you sigh and wish you can hold time still."
He pulled gently at the lapel and glanced over to make sure she was adequately covered as well before asking, "There is a difference between quiet and quiet?"
Jubilee grinned. "There's a difference between quiet and silence," she informed him sagely.
There were times when Jean-Paul truly believed that men were from Mars and women were from Venus. But then, he didn't survive in this world for so long without learning a trick or two… like keeping his trap shut even though it killed him to point out the inconsistencies of her reasoning. "How long have you been up here?"
"What time is it?"
He glanced at his watch. "Four-thirty."
She thought for a moment, a quick calculation in her head. "Three hours."
"Three hours?" unable to hide his shock.
She shrugged.
He glanced down at his tiny companion. "Why don't you look frostbitten yet?"
Snuggling close to absorb some serious body heat, "I think Hank once said something about my metabolism being extremely fast 'cause my body needed to process all the blah blah blah… the short of it is, I get cold but I don't freeze. My body doesn't work that way." She rubbed her nose against his warm arm while he made protesting noises but didn't move away. "Kind of like you only not quite."
With some reluctance and resignation, he put his arms around her and pulled her close, allowing her to siphon off some of his extra body heat. She shivered against him. "Why didn't you bring a jacket?" he admonished softly.
"I forgot."
"You forgot a jacket in under zero degree weather?" he made a nose of disgust. "Idiot."
"I know," she said agreeably and wrapped her arms around his middle. She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, feeling the firm muscles underneath his uniform. "It's so nice up here."
He nodded his agreement though she could not see. They sat there and watched the sunset slowly throw golden rays and orange hues across pristine snow covered grounds. The air was sharp with chilly winds but was refreshingly clean and reassuring. "What do you plan on doing for your birthday?"
Jubilee's head snapped up so quickly, Jean-Paul was surprised she didn't give herself whiplash. Her sapphire blue eyes went wide on her face, showing all the whites around it. "What?"
He smirked. "You didn't think I know? I'm a business man, Enfant, collecting information about the businesses around me, including people, is my specialty. You don't think I would do the same about each and every X-Man?"
Making a face, not sure she liked the idea of someone looking up information about her; she shook her head and leaned back against him again. "I was thinking about asking the Professor to send me to St. Louis for a week or two."
"Why St. Louis?"
"I'm thinking about visiting Everett's parents. See how they're doing? Maybe being little Emily something as well."
He wondered if she realized how telling it was to hear that she wanted to spend her birthday seeing to the needs of others. "Who is Emily?"
"Everett's baby sister," she replied with a smile. "He used to show me pictures of her. The Thomas's were real diligent about sending photos so that Everett didn't ever feel left out of the family while he was at school." She chuckled softly to herself remember several occasions where the overly enthusiastic Everett would disrupt Monopoly games to proudly show them videos of his sister. "I think she'd be five this year. Or maybe six…"
"Have you visited before?" already thinking of the plane reservations and hotel arrangements that would have to be in place before the little one can go anywhere, assuming she could get pass the approval of her guard dogs, Logan and Scott Summers.
"Only once," she shuddered just remembering that once. "Not under great circumstances either."
Jean-Paul could well imagine. X-Men reunions with each other and loved ones for most parts aren't under happy occasions. "Will they welcome you?"
"I hope so."
It didn't bode well that she wasn't sure. "Then why go if you're not…"
"Because there's no one left in LA."
He didn't ask. He didn't need to. The City of Angels meant Angelo Espinosa, yet another fallen comrade that haunts her. "You should go to the Bahamas or the Virgin Islands? Somewhere with a little sun and sand; you look like death warmed over."
"My mother's side of the family," she murmured and rubbed her nose against his arm again. "Okay, I take it back. I think my nose is frozen."
"Want to go inside now?"
"Not yet," she whispered and watched the sun. "Just a few more minutes, okay?"
He didn't say anything to that request but stayed where he was. He allowed another five minutes to pass, and his toes to become numb before asking, "So did you want to go to somewhere a little warmer than St. Louis?"
"You offering?" she asked, eyeing one drifting snowflake threatening to fall on her already frozen nose.
"Um…" stiffening next to her.
Jubilee rolled her eyes as indiscreetly as she possibly could. "Before you get all sweaty and nervous, yes, I still remember that you like boys and FYI, I wasn't asking that way."
His mouth twisted disagreeably while he felt some small relief. "Men. I like men, not snot-nosed boys."
"Same difference," she replied breezily.
He rolled his eyes. "Well?"
"Are you taking me?"
Another hesitation, this time for a different reason, "I assume you'd want to take Mr. Logan or the blonde with you."
It made her laugh to hear Paige being referred to as 'the blonde.' It was awfully sweet of him. "You invited me," she reminded him with a hug. "Seem kind of rude for you to abandon me."
His amusement could only be detected by the sparkle in his eyes. The one thing he liked about Jubilee was that she never bored. There something so refreshingly endearing about her undying rose-color glasses view of the world and everyone in it. "If you wish."
"I wish," she replied softly. "Plus you might even take me to a bar or two while we're there."
"To pick up boys?"
"That's your job," she said with a laugh.
He glared at her, "Brat," but there was no heat in the word. It was frightening how quickly he was becoming use to her teasing tones. He'd never allowed anyone the kind of liberties that he's finding himself allowing her more and more. It was hard to put up a sourly façade when the child looks at him with those guileless blue eyes that seem to say, "Trust me, protect me, adore me; and in return, I will never abandon you." It was so easy to fall under her innocent spell. He had seen it done to so many around him already. And once there, they had no defenses for it.
Jean-Paul was no different. He was after all still just a man.
"So, pretty drinks on the beach, warm sand and cute guys in board-shorts?" she asked, rubbing her icy nose against his arm again.
"Why do you keep doing that?" he asked, pulling her closer when he felt her shiver to the rising winds as the sun disappeared over the edge of horizon. Her skin felt clammy from the cold air and he hope to god that she was right about her powers and he isn't going to get hell for permitting her to stay out here for so long. He was sure Hank would have some stern words for him if Jubilee were to catch pneumonia.
"I'm cold," she replied and snuggled up against him some more.
"Then let's go in," trying to get up.
"One more minute," she said, tugging on him hard enough to have him land on his posterior with a thump. She turned her face toward the fading light with a sigh. "Just another minute."
"You're frozen stiff. Another minute and I'm going to have to carry you in," he pointed out as he lifted her blue tipped fingers. "You're going to end up with hyperthermia if we don't go in now."
"Just another minute, there's still some light out," she said with a sigh. "It's so nice out here tonight."
"A silent night," he said quietly, understanding her relief in the peace that surrounded them for the moment.
"I got you something for Christmas," she murmured watching the last of the rays fall behind tall evergreens. "It's a keychain."
"That's nice," wondering what the hell he was going to need a keychain for.
"You want it now or you want to wait for Christmas? I hope you don't mind, I didn't wrap it up yet," she said digging around in her pockets. "Took me a while until I could find someone that would make it for me. Most of the silversmith guys don't want anything to do with me once they find out what I was having them make. Really not cool of them. But then there was this guy in the village and he had this tiny little shop in the middle of the…"
"Jubilee?" he interrupted, dizzy from the rambling.
"Here," pressing something round, warm and hard into his palm hidden beneath the heavy coat. "I hope you like it."
She was regarding him with such a sincere look upon her face that he knew he'd have to lie through his teeth even if he hated it. With a sigh, he pulled his hand up into the cold and stared at the smooth round silver piece. On one side, a simple double lined X had been worked into the surface with intricate swirl of Art Nouveau design around the edge, a delicate touch of elegance to the otherwise no-frills design. Smoothing his thumb over the shiny piece, he turned it over. Engraved on the back in tiny curvy letters, "The constant light in the night; thank you for being you. With Much Love, Jubilation."
He stared at the words with confusion. Of all the people in all the places he's been to, she was the first, and he suspected the last, that would thank him for anything… especially something as simple as simply being. To say that he wasn't touched would have been a bold face lie, to say that he was touched, would be completely out of his character. And yet…
"Well?" she asked nervously.
"It's very nice," he managed to say for lack of anything better or more appropriate to respond.
Her smile was light a bright light that was turned on in a dark room. "Good, I'm glad you like it," she hugged him once more than got up slowly, wincing as her feet touched the floor. "We should go in now. I'm freezing."
Still much in a stupor, he stood and helped her to the door. There, he paused for a moment, holding her by the arm and staring at her. He didn't understand. Didn't quite know what must have been going through that crazy little mind of hers when she did this. How did she manage to make something as uselessly trivial as a key chain into something unforgettable and… People simply didn't do stuff like this for him. It wasn't in their nature or his. And yet, coming from her, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. "Thank you."
That seemed to delight her to no end. "You're welcome," was the simply reply. Her twinkling eyes seem to mock him with their sweetly innocence. While he stood there, dazed and confused over this gesture from the heart, she was completely oblivious of the chaos she's created in his life. It hardly seemed fair. "So, can I buy a new bikini?"
With that, she brought the world back on its axis. "Don't push your luck."