AN: Drabble. The movie ends with Jupiter happily scrubbing toilets, but I find it hard to believe it would stay that way for long. Written for the "Home" Jupiter Ascending Fic Challenge.
Jupiter stared in disgust at the one hundred and twentieth toilet she'd washed since her return from space. Yes, she'd been counting, and if she ever washed another toilet, it would be too soon.
She hauled herself up off the floor, removed her gloves and glanced again at shimmery blue image on her wrist.
Why the hell was she wasting her time washing toilets? She was a space queen. She could be out there doing anything, and no matter what, it would be more interesting and rewarding than this life of drudgery.
And that was the beginning of the end. Oh, she didn't throw her clothes in a suitcase and storm out of the house that evening, but the idea of leaving home grew slowly until it consumed her thoughts.
She'd hated her life cleaning houses before she'd known she was a Recurrence, but back then she'd had no other choice. Now she had the opportunity to do something different, to be something different...
It wasn't that she didn't love her family, her home. She did. She loved them more now than ever. Almost losing them helped her really appreciate them.
Maybe that's why the decision was so hard. Maybe that's why she started pulling back from her family, spending more time away from home. They attributed it to her new boyfriend.
But she knew better, and somehow her mother seemed to too. Every once in a while, Aleksa would look at her and she would see sad shadows lurking in the depths of her mother's eyes.
One evening, not long after toilet number 165, she packed a few things in a duffel bag.
"I'm going to spend the weekend with my boyfriend," she told her family as she headed out the door. "Love you all."
Aleksa followed her out. "You're not coming back on Monday, are you?"
Jupiter shook her head and blinked back tears. She dropped the duffel on the porch and hugged her mother hard. "I love you, Mama. I love you all so much. But I just… I can't live this life anymore."
"It is time for you to spread your wings and fly. You will call?"
"Yes, I'll call." She kissed her mother one last time and then walked down the steps.
At the sidewalk, she turned and waved goodbye. Her mother waved back, but the image was blurred by unshed tears.
Jupiter walked up the street and turned the corner to where Caine was waiting for her.
She collapsed into him and his arms held her up. Her tears flowed until his shirt was very damp.
"I don't really want to leave," she told him in a shaky voice, "but I just can't stay anymore. I was suffocating there."