In The Kitchen, a x-men fanfic

"What the hell d'you think you're wearing, kid?"

Jubilee turned and gave Wolverine an impish grin as she headed for the fridge. "Last I heard, they were called clothes." She wanted to grab a bite to eat before heading out – she knew there'd be alcohol at tonight's party, and she wanted to be prepared.

"Cut the sass!" Wolverine growled. "You're not goin' out lookin' like that!"

"Like what? A hot chick on a date?" Jubilee smoothed both hands over her short, skimpy dress – florescent pink to match her shades. Smokin'!

"Like a kid playin' dress-up." Wolverine folded his arms over his barrel chest, eyes narrowed. "Go and put somethin' else on."

"Playing dress up…? Mister, you're not my Dad!"

Cigar poking from the side of his mouth, he announced, "If you were, I'd put ya over my knee and spank ya."

"What? That is so… ugh! I'm not changing!"

"You change or I tell Cyclops." He jabbed the air in front of her with one finger. "An' I bet he don't even know 'bout your party, little girl."

Jubilee glared at him, hands on her hips – but he was right. With a huff of irritation she flounced out of the room.

At least he wasn't stopping her from going!

"Ugh, if I ever see that jerk again I'll rip his eyes out!" Jubilee stormed into the kitchen, throwing her evening bag down on the table.

"What'sa matter, Jubes? You look pretty mad." Wolverine was drinking a beer, reading the sports section of the newspaper. He was leaning on the back legs of his chair but let it drop to all fours when he saw the expression on her face.

"Keen eyesight tell you that, did it?" She pulled open the fridge and began rummaging inside.

"Don't take that tone with me, missy." His face was hard, but his expression softened when he saw the tense set of her shoulders. "Come on. Tell your old pal Wolvie what happened."

Jubilee pulled out a plate of cold chicken legs, leftovers from dinner. "Sorry, Logan. Didn't mean to snap. My date was a jerk."

Wolverine's eyes narrowed. "Jerk how? Did the creep touch ya? Hurt ya? Cause if he did –" His claws shot out and ripped straight through the newspaper.

Jubilee chuckled. Plonking the plate on the table she pulled the paper off Wolverine's claws, folded it neatly, and put it down.

"Chill," she drawled, pulling out a chair. She dropped into it and threw her high-heeled feet up on the table. Her skirt was split at the knee and the movement revealed the smooth, toned skin of her calves. Grabbing a chicken leg she began to gnaw at the cold meat. "He was nothing I couldn't handle."

Wolverine's teeth were barred in a snarl, his whole body taut. "What – did the creep – do?"

Jubilee licked chicken grease off her lips. Wolverine's eyes flicked to her tongue but she didn't notice.

"All right, all right," she muttered, "keep your pants on. The guy tried to grab bits of me I wasn't ready to have grabbed, all right?"

Wolverine's chair clattered against the wall as he pushed it back, fists clenched, claws upraised. "Tell me where the creep is, an' I'll give him a reason not to touch ya again!"

"Whoah, cool it, Wolvie!" Jubilee urged, holding up both hands. "I dealt with the guy, ok?"

"I'da made it more permanent!"

Jubilee sighed. "I paffed him in the face, ok? Just a little paff. Just enough to remind him where he should keep his hands."

"Tell me you ain't seein' the jerk again?"

"As if!" she spluttered. "Credit me with some sense!"

"Kid, ya go out lookin' like that, I gotta wonder if ya got any sense left."

"Lighten up, Wolvie! Is a full-length dress and totally boring neckline not enough fabric for you? Would you rather I wore a sack over my head?"

"If it stops your creep boyfriend from touchin' ya…"

"Ex-boyfriend." Jubilee sniffed. "And I'll have you know this outfit has the Cyclops Seal of Approval."

"Well, ain't that just peachy."

Jubilee waltzed into the kitchen, twirling on her toes as she hugged herself. She felt light as air. Stronger than steel. Sensuous as silk.

"And hungry as a wolf," she murmured, pulling the fridge open.

"An' where the hell d'you think you've been?" a voice growled from behind her.

"Oh! Wolverine! Didn't hear you there," she flushed, letting the fridge swing shut behind her.

"If ya came down from Cloud Nine you'd hear me just fine, kid."

"Stop calling me a kid! I'm nineteen, for God's sake!"

"You're not old enough to smoke, drink, vote or have sex," Wolverine snarled. "But I can smell ya been doin' plen-ty of the latter."

Jubilee's eyes narrowed. "That is disgusting! It's none of your damned business what I do! Besides," she added, putting her hands on her hips, "I'm old enough to fight to protect my fellow mutants. I'm old enough to die for them. I am not a kid."

Wolverine's lips were drawn back from his teeth in a snarl. His hands were balled into fists, and then –

Snick. His claws were out.

"No," he hissed, "you're not a kid anymore, Jubes. But you're still so young. I just… ya should be careful. Lot of predators out there."

Jubilee leaned back against the fridge. "Worried about me, Logan?"

"Well sombody's gotta worry! Cyclops and Jean are still too wrapped up with bein' married, Beast's got his shaggy head in a book, Rogue's busy with that damned stupid Cajun, and Storm's worried about… whatever it is Storm worries about." His claws retracted and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, don't do anythin' stupid, will ya? Don't want ya getting' hurt."

Jubilee's expression softened. "I'll be careful. Because you worry about me."

"What's this? Saturday night 'n you're not out on the tiles, darlin?"

Jubilee was sitting at the kitchen table as Wolverine came in. She was halfway down a tub of strawberry ice cream, spoon in one hand, slim novel in the other.

"Oh! Logan! I, uh…" She coughed and put the book facedown so he couldn't see the title, but from his glimpse of the cover he recognised it anyway – it was one of those trashy romance novels Rogue was always reading.

"Didn't hear me comin', yeah, I get that all the time." He pulled up a chair and turned it backwards, slinging a leg over so he could sit with his arms over the chair's back.

"So…?"

"So what?"

"It's Saturday night. Don't ya always go out on a Saturday night?"

"Hey! I haven't been out for months. Haven't wanted to," she admitted. She realised she still held the spoon halfway between the tub and her mouth. She popped it in her mouth and swallowed, licking the residue.

Wolverine's eyes followed the movement.

"Not got a fella lined up?"

"Nope."

"Darlin', I can smell a lie…"

Jubilee flushed. "All right," she said slowly, "so there might be someone…"

"Come on, Jubes, spill. Tell me all. I wanna know if I should be fixing the boy out for a coffin."

"Why do you always hate my boyfriends?"

"Simple. They're never good enough for ya."

Jubilee stared at him for a long moment. She put the spoon back into the tub. "So… who would be good enough for me? In your opinion?"

"Whoah, Jubes, I got no opinion," Wolverine said, holding both hands out. "Just tell me about this guy you like. Then I'll tell you if I wanna kill him."

Jubilee looked at the table. Should she tell him? Maybe just a hint…

"He's not a boy," she said eventually. "He's a man. An older man."

"Older guy. Huh. Sure he's not too old for ya?"

"Who decides what's too old?" Jubilee shrugged. "'Sides, he's looking great for his age. Fantastic."

Wolverine stilled in his seat, regarding her with piercing eyes over the back of the chair. "What's he like?"

Jubilee tipped her head to one side, thinking. "Hot-headed," she replied. "Fierce, independent. Loyal. He never gives up, never."

Wolverine swallowed hard. "Sounds like a decent guy if you take away the temper?"

Jubilee smiled. "That's one of the reasons I like him," she explained. "Even though he's so fierce, I know he'd never hurt me. He's like a force of nature – elemental – like an animal."

Wolverine looked down. "Like a beast? Some feral dog that can't control himself?"

"Like an alpha male protecting his pack," Jubilee corrected. "Protecting his territory. He fights for what he believes in. But…" she sighed. "Half the time I don't think he even notices I'm around."

"Darlin', if he's got eyes in his head he couldn't fail to notice ya." His voice was a rough whisper.

"He didn't notice that I haven't been out much for months."

"Maybe he did notice. But maybe it's taken him this long to pluck up the courage to ask ya' what the problem is."

The breath caught in Jubilee's throat. "I don't believe that. This guy – he's the bravest man I know. He wouldn't have any problems talking to a girl."

"Woman," Wolverine corrected. "Ya ain't been a girl for a while now, darlin'. This guy – maybe he was just waitin' for you t'grow up before he made a move."

"This man…" Jubilee could hardly breathe. Her heart was hammering in her chest, so fast she knew Wolverine must be able to hear it, "he's not a million miles away. Kinda close to home, actually."

"Jubes… he doesn't sound like a hearts and flowers kinda guy."

"I don't want hearts and flowers. I've tried that. It always goes wrong. I just want someone who'll be true to themselves, and true to me."

"Jubilee… darlin'…. if this is some kinda' game you're playin' on an old man…"

"Hey! You're not old! And I've never played those kinds of games!"

"Huh. So it really is me you're lustin' after."

"It's not lust. It's lo –" Jubilee stopped herself with one hand over her mouth, but it was too late. The word was out.

"You don't know what you're talkin' about!" Wolverine pushed his chair back as he jumped to his feet. "You're crazy!"

"Is it crazy to have fallen for you, Logan?" Her voice was very quiet. She stood up, ice cream and book forgotten. "You said yourself you were waiting for me to grow up. Well, here I am."

She walked around the table towards him. He took a step back, holding his hands out in warning.

"Jube, darlin', I ain't right for ya," he ground out.

Jubilee reached up and caught his hands in hers. "I think I'm old enough to make that decision for myself, Logan. And I know I've chosen right."

"I can't…" he shook his head, but he didn't break her light grip.

"You can." She was still quiet, but there was a hint of something else in her voice now. Passion? Desperation? Both? She slid her hands along his hairy, muscled forearms, up to his shoulders. He didn't stop her, not even when her arms curled around his neck and she closed the small distance between them.

His hands cupped her face. Her breath was sweet in his nose, smelling of ice cream and the unique scent that was all her.

It was too much for his fragile self-control – his mouth came down hard on hers, bruising almost, his stubble rough against her skin. His tongue pushed her lips apart as her arms twined around his neck.

"Darlin', I'm sorry – " he groaned, trying to twist his head away. She twined her fingers in his hair and refused to let him move.

"Didn't you hear anything I said just now?" she asked, trying to keep the exasperation out of her voice.

"I heard it. I just don't believe it."

"I'm all grown up, and I know my own mind better than anyone else does." She was pulling his face closer and closer back to hers. "So believe it… when I say I love you, Logan."

"Jubilee…" Then he kissed her again, a deep, rough kiss that curled her toes and sent deep pulses of longing through her.

"Darlin', I'll never hurt you…."

Jubilee looked up into his eyes and smiled. "I know."

END