SUMMARY: Oh, ouch, that hurt. What's gonna become of Logan and Jubes, our favorite dysfunctional couple?
RATING: Whole buncha bad language, some alcohol to minors (say no to drugs, kids!) not so much adult situations. Change is good, every once in a while, no?
AUTHORS NOTE: OK, I like, totally blew off school to write this damn thing, but…It had to come out! I mean, I couldn't leave it on a cliffhanger forever (or risk getting flamed off fanfic.net) Hope you like this chap. It's not one of my best, but hey, can't be perfect every time. FYI, Mystique & Wolvie really did do the nasty, in Wolverine 51, so don't say it's impossible. I'm struggling for an ending, I'm thinking this story has about two more chapters left in it, then I'm on to something new. Suggestions are welcome, and, as always, I love ya if you review.
Jubilee laughed out loud. It was eerie, and broke the sudden heavy silence of the room. Some of the X-Men looked around at each other, murmuring. Bobby even joined in, nervously laughing a little.
"Nice try, Mystique."
She stepped forward boldly.
"Now why don't you go back to your little Brotherhood, since you're done with this…this prank."
Mystique didn't look amused. She looked shocked, and then angry. She whirled around to face Jubilee.
"You think I'm lying, you foolish child? If you don't believe me, ask him."
Her finger was pointed at Logan.
And Jubilee turned to him, smile on her face.
The smile died slowly. It was painful to watch.
Wolverine looked like he was about to throw up. His face had gone a shade of ashy pale, and he stood there with no reaction at all. Then he swallowed, hard.
"Logan...?" Jubilee prompted, still waiting for the punchline.
They'd all laugh. Ha ha ha, Mystique's crazy. Real funny. Right?
"Jube--" His voice came out a hoarse whisper, and he cleared his throat and tried again.
"Jubilee, I..." He stopped right there. And the silence, more than anything else, convinced her, and convicted him. The rest of the X-Men had quieted again. Some were blatantly staring. Cyclops' jaw had actually dropped, and Rogue's eye's couldn't get much wider.
And then they began to talk all at once.
"She's lying, ain't she?"
"If this is true, I'll perform genetic tests to--"
"Logan. Why doesn't somebody ask him--"
"Excuse me!" Jubilee's shrill voice, strained, cut above the noise of the crowd. She grabbed Logan by the arm. Her fingernails dug painfully into the T-Shirt she herself had bought him.
"Logan and I have to talk!" She said, her voice high and desperate. Pushing her way through her fellow X-Men, who quickly parted to give her room, she pulled him into the kitchen. She slammed the door. Then she turned and faced him, quivering, though whether it was with shock, surprise or anger, she couldn't tell.
Behind the closed doors, she exploded.
"Logan, can you tell me what the fuck is going on. Can you tell me just why Mystique walked in here and claimed to be having your…your baby?"
"It's not what you think, Jubes, just let me--"
She held her finger up to his lips, silencing him. Her voice was strangled, but quiet.
"Just tell me it's a lie. That's all I want to hear."
The expression on his face changed, hardened to one she hadn't seen lately. One she had been used to seeing, a long time ago. His emotional shields were going up. And his voice was harsh. And she knew what he was going to say a split-second before he said it.
"It's true."
She just stood there for a second, unable to move, not sure what to say. Her mind was numb, then a buzzing static. Then, as if a door had been opened, thousands of questions came pouring into her head at once. When she tried to speak, it was fragmented.
"But how could--I mean--did you--" She gawked.
"Listen to me," He said, taking her roughly by the shoulders, making her look into his face.
"How long have we been together?"
"Four and a-half months," She answered instantly, then suddenly felt embarrassed at the teenage compulsion of counting months at all.
"She's six months pregnant--Jubilee, lemme explain something to you. When I was-- well, my old self, I used to get these..."
He paused to grasp a word.
"Moods. These feelings. Like aggression but...I don't know, it's kind of hard to explain. But when I got them, I'd either end up working it out by fighting something or fu-- uh, sleeping with someone. Kinda could channel the energy either way, or somethin' like that."
She was listening soundlessly, her eyes wide, her mouth closed. His excuse had better get a lot better, and fast.
"And I was in one of those moods. I went to one 'a my regular hangouts, an' there was Mystique."
Jubilee stood there, obviously wanting more out of this tale.
"We were two consentin' adults, an' we ended up in bed together. End of story."
He stopped, letting her shoulders go.
"Well, I guess not. Not now, anyway."
Jubilee stood there like a deaf-mute. Logan shrugged his shoulders, trying to get any kind of reaction from her, any sign that she had heard him.
"It was a one-night stand, Jubilee, if even that."
Jubilee suddenly became alive again. Her brows bunched over her eyes, and her lips drew back in a snarl.
"Let me get this straight-- you get horny, so you go so some trashy bar and find Mystique, legs wide open, and you fuck her without a condom? You stupid bastard!"
The words sounded so savage coming out of her own mouth that she almost didn't believe she'd said them. She realized it had come out rather loudly.
"I hope everyone was glad to hear that part," Logan yelled back angrily, and Jubilee realized what he was talking about as his gaze was fixed behind her.
She threw open the kitchen door and Bobby tumbled in, on top of Jean. Cyclops and Gambit were behind them. Jubilee's rage was nearly blinding, in the literal sense. Sparks spit from her fingertips as she yelled,
"Get out! Get the fuck out! This is none of your fucking business, get out!"
Her voice had graduated to a high pitched scream.
Bobby scrambled away, and the rest literally ran, scared to death at the enraged young woman. No one, thus far, had ever seen Jubilee this angry.
And they ain't seen nothing yet…
She turned to Logan, disgust evident in her tone.
"That's your explanation?"
"Yeah." He was totally emotionless now, but she could tell he was scared. Not that he would, or could admit it. The "tough guy." She knew it was just a facade to protect himself. The coward. But what about her? What about the girl he told he'd loved more than life? Jubilee's glare burned into him, and he tried again,
"I got the urge--"
"Stop sounding like a fucking Herbal Essences commercial!"
He tried a different tactic.
"Listen, we can work this out, Jubilee--"
Logan reached out to stroke the side of her face, but she slapped his hand violently away.
"No!" She screamed, and her voice finally cracked as what was happening hit her all at once. "No, we can't! Another woman is having your baby! My baby! It should be my baby!" And before she could stop herself, she was crying and screaming at the same time, and Logan was standing there, helpless.
"I lov--"
"Don't say it!" She screamed so fiercely, he nearly jumped.
"No you don't! No, you don't! Oh, my God," She dropped her head into her hands suddenly.
"What have I done?! I let you... what have I..."
He was afraid to touch her, move in and comfort her.
Looking up, she turned her face away from him and ran out the door, letting it bang shut again on the way out. Logan watched her, standing still in the middle of the suddenly noiseless kitchen. In a moment, he heard the heavy slam of the front door of the mansion.
In all this time he thought he, if anyone, would be the one to run out on her.
But now he was alone.
In the middle of his home, surrounded by his friends and family, he was the loneliest he'd ever been in his whole life.
"I love you, Jubilee."
She wasn't around to hear it, and she didn't care.
* * *
"Hey, Jubil--Oh, honey, come here!"
Jubilee fell into Paige's arms, sobbing against her. Emma Frost showed up in the background.
"Jubilation-- What's wrong?"
She tried to talk, but she was crying too hard. Emma and Paige helped her over to the sofa, where she sat down and let her cry. Emma and Paige looked at each other, helpless.
"Jubilee, honey, we can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong."
"Are you hurt?" Emma asked, baffled at the lack of any external injury.
Jubilee shook her head.
"It's not the X-Men? Something about the X-Men?"
Jubilee didn't answer, but she took the handkerchief Emma offered her. Paige thought hard, then said,
"Jubilee...Sweetie, is this about Logan?"
She nodded, then burst out in a fresh bunch of tears, crying hard enough that Jono and Everett ran into the room. The handkerchief was already soaked through at their arrival.
"Boys...This is a personal matter. I assure you Jubilation is not in any danger here."
They stood and stared.
"Get out of here, you retards! It's girl stuff!" Paige yelled at them angrily, hurling a wad of used tissue.
They left.
Paige held Jubilee against her and rocked her, while Emma kept up a fresh supply of Kleenex.
"I always knew he was no good," Emma muttered angrily. "Now he's hurt one of my own students." She squeezed Jubilee's hand reassuringly, and said darkly, "I hope he's happy."
* * *
It was clear that Logan was not happy.
When the rest of the X-Men worked up the nerve to politely knock on the kitchen door, no one answered. When they opened it, the area was empty, and no sign of the huge fight was even visible.
"Maybe...Maybe they went off together to work things out," Bobby said hopefully, still wary that Logan was going to jump out behind a cabinet any minute and slice them to ribbons.
"Don't be so stupid, Bobby," Rogue said irritably, getting herself a glass of milk. "Yah heard th' way they were hollerin' at each other. That ain't somethin' you just work
out in a day's time."
Jean suddenly clutched her head. Cyclops steadied her.
"What is it?"
"Sorry," Jean said, a little embarrassed. "It was just a message from Emma, over at Gen-X. She said Jubilee is safe there, and will be staying for an indefinite period of time."
"I can't believe it." Cyclops said, shaking his head.
"What, sugah?" Rogue asked, draining her glass of milk.
"This whole thing. First Logan and Jubilee getting together. Now he and Myst..."
The words died on his lips as Mystique walked into the kitchen. She was greeted with a sudden cold silence.
"I'm sorry." She said bluntly. "Do you want me to leave?"
"No, please," Cyclops said falteringly. "I suppose...I suppose you have as much right to be here as the rest of us now. But I'd like to know..."
Mystique looked at him questioningly. Scott's jaw worked as he phrased the question.
"Will you be...staying?"
She sighed, and when she spoke, it was with less hostility and more hopelessness than before. Her whole countenance seemed to sag. She looked very tired, and for the first time, Scott noticed, very pregnant.
"Magneto threw me out. The Brotherhood won't take me. If I could just stay here a while...until I find somewhere..." She stopped and said flatly. "I would pay you, but I don't have any money. It's all back with...Them,"
She finished awkwardly, referring to her former teammates.
To everyone's surprise, Rogue said to her, kindly,
"You can stay here, sugah, as long as you need to, or at least until tha baby's born. I mean, after all--I know Hank's gotta run all those tests, but for now, were assumin' it's Logan's."
She nodded, grateful, but afraid to show it too much. Or trust the X-Men too much.
"There's something else I need to ask, although it might be a little personal." Jean Grey spoke gently too, and for some reason, Mystique wanted to cry. This was nothing like the boys at the Brotherhood, and she was in sore need for kindness right now. She kept her expression perfectly blank.
"What?"
"Have you thought about getting an abortion?"
"Yes," She said. "I have. But I don't know anyone who...would. For the likes of me, I mean. A mutant."
"I'm sure there are some doctors available to mutants for--"
"Yeah," Bobby cut him off. "His name is Beast, an' he lives here with us."
"I am afraid, my friends," Beast said, "I do not know how to perform a procedure of that nature. And, even if I could," He looked away, a little uncomfortable, "I have moral objections."
"What are ya talkin' about, Hank?" Rogue asked disbelievingly. "You got an' objection against solvin' all our problems?"
"No, Rogue, that is not the reason at all. I have a firm belief that life starts--"
"Stop this," Cyclops said, holding up a hand, and shaking his head firmly. "This isn't going to turn into a pro-life-pro-choice debate here. Everyone has his or her own separate opinions, and this," he indicated the mansion with a sweep of his hand, "Should be a place where no one seems challenged, or pushed to change them."
For once Mystique saw just a little bit why everyone else like the X-Men so much. She didn't smile, but she allowed herself to relax a little. Now that she didn't have to hide the fact that she was 6 months into her term any more, her stomach was maternally rounded. They hadn't known what a strain it was, holding her old shape for so long. Cyclops continued.
"Gambit-- You haven't said anything. What do you think?"
"What do I t'ink?" Gambit asked, leaning against the counter. "I t'ink somebody better find Logan befo' he runs so far away he don' know how to come back again."
* * *
He went to four bars before he found one that didn't card him. The owner was an old friend of his, Mike. He walked in, the smell of dank wood and beer hitting him in the face. He breathed in deeply. He had missed it.
"Hey, kid, get outta here," Mike started, looking up from the tap, then squinted as the figure continued to walk, undaunted, towards him.
"Hey, Wolverine-- that ain't you, is it?"
"In the flesh. Pour me somethin' strong, wouldja?"
"Logan. Shoot, man. What happened to ya?" He asked, looking Wolverine up and down as he wiped a glass clean and filled it with scotch.
"Long story," Logan said as he settled himself on the stool.
"You gonna be around here for long?"
"Nah. Movin' out again."
"Where to?"
"Ain't sure yet. Canada, probably. Maybe Japan." He took a drink, grinned at the satisfying way it burned his throat.
"Maybe someplace farther."
* * *
Time heals all wounds.
Some better than others.
Weeks had passed. Three weeks and four days, by her count. And Jubilation Lee wasn't feeling quite so jubilant anymore. She did a lot less talking now, and a lot more thinking. She wondered, every day, when Mystique was going to have the baby. She wondered if Logan was still at the X-Mansion. She wondered why it still hurt so much just to think about him.
No. He's somewhere far away by now. I'd bet my life on it. In his head, he was probably gone the minute we stepped into the kitchen.
"You'll get over it," Emma had assured her, after she'd spent the whole first day back at Gen-X crying her eyes out. "It's just a man, after all, and men--pah!"
She spit, and walked away disgusted. Jubilee knew that was as close as she got to sympathy, and was thankful for it.
She felt like a zombie. Every day, she got up, put on clothes, went downstairs, ate breakfast, assured them all she was OK. She wasn't OK. And she wasn't over it, and now she was hating herself for holding on. She kept a picture of them beside her bedside table, in a drawer. Beside the pictures was a ring.
It had been a series of pictures, actually. She remembered the day, clearly,
* * *
She and Logan were sitting beside a lake, beside the X-Mansion. She was eating popcorn, throwing some to the ducks, saving some for herself. It gave her deja vu for some reason.
She shrugged it off and turned to Logan.
"You ever wanna get married?"
She loved being able to talk so openly to him. Finally, she'd been waiting to for years before he'd gotten younger, and the opportunity had fallen, quite literally in her lap.
"I don't know," Came his reply, as he looked over at her. His head was cradled on her legs, and he squinted up at her, chewing on a stalk of grass. "Depends. I'd get married to you. Do you want to?"
"Actually, not especially," She said, almost surprising herself with the candidness of her words.
"I mean, what's the point? If you know you love the person..."
"Then it's just a bunch a' legal work an' hassle. I know what ya' mean." He sat up, and then turned to face her, taking some of the popcorn and chewing it thoughtfully.
"I love you."
She looked up smiling. It was still nice to hear it.
"I love you too."
Then, grinning lopsidedly, he took out a ring.
"Jubilation Lee, will you marry me?"
She started laughing.
"Logan, that's a Cracker-Jack's ring."
He looked at her, exaggerated disappointment on his face.
"Is that a no?"
"It's a yes, you psycho!" She said, delighted. He slipped the ring on her finger.
"May I now kiss th' bride?"
"Mmmm," She answered, and leaned forward.
It was a very simple kiss, and short, but so sweet.
Click! FLASH!
She shielded her face instinctively, and Logan's claws came out as he blinked a few times to clear his vision. When he did, he saw Storm standing there with a camera, looking embarrassed.
"Please don't be frightened, I'm sorry," She said quickly. "It was such a beautiful day, and I came out to photograph nature. I stumbled across the two of you and..." She blushed. "It was just too perfect." She looked at the two of them.
"I hope you don't mind?"
"Gimme that thing, weather witch!" Logan growled.
* * *
Tears brimmed in her eyes as she looked through the rest of the pictures. The back of Storm's head as she ran, screaming, from Logan, a picture of Logan's foot as she struggled the camera away from him, and then...One of him smiling. His shirt was off, and his hair was alternately in his eyes and sticking up in strange places. He was wet because of the impromptu thunderstorm Ororo had let loose on him after he'd swiped the camera. He was grinning, straight into the camera. She looked at the photo that was framed. It was of the kiss. She certainly looked smitten, one hand feeling the ring on her finger as he kissed her.
If you wanna know if he loves you so, it's in his kiss
She shook her head to clear it. Never listen to oldies when you're in a sentimental mood. She turned off her her radio.
Still… she carefully studied his face as she hummed.
Is it in his eyes, oh no, that's just his charm.
His eyes were closed, she noted with a smile, and he was leaning in with his whole body towards her.
In his warm embrace, oh no, that's just his arms.
One hand was up, inches away from caressing her face, as if he was afraid to touch her. The other was reaching for her own.
There was no doubt he loved her, stupid old song or no. She'd been denying herself this fact, because…Why?
Because it made her more miserable to think that somewhere, he was missing her too?
She put the photos away, slamming the drawer. She looked at the wall, to the ticking clock. 9 PM. She missed him. She wanted him back.
No you don't. Jubilee, he'll only break your heart.
She walked down the stairs, through the darkened house.
And that's the ultimate question, isn't it? Is it worth it?
It wasn't something she could answer right away.
"Hey, babe,"
She jumped, startled, then her hand fluttered to her chest.
"Angelo! Geez, you scared the hell out of me!"
"Sorry, what'cha doin' up so late, chica? Takin' pity on yourself again?"
"Something like that," she said, wryly. As she walked over to join him on the couch, she noticed the telltale board in the kitchen floor was missing. No wonder he sounded drunk.
"Wanna join me for a little...consolation?" He swished the bottle of vodka around a little. Jubilee collapsed on the sofa.
"Sounds terrific."
* * *
He couldn't do it.
He tried to leave, three times. And he couldn't do it.
Damnit, Logan. Letting some frail get to you this bad...
He'd been holed up in a ratty hotel for the last...Four weeks? He'd lost count. Day and night were the same. Get drunk, go to bed, sleep. He turned over on the stained mattress to look up at the cracks in the ceiling. He popped a claw and speared a cockroach that was scurrying about on the bed, then lay back and listened to the voices tumbling about in his head.
What the hell am I doing here?
She don't want you no more, Logan.
So why ain't I goin', already?
Why ain't I gone?
He groaned and rolled over on his stomach. All he had on was an old pair of jeans. He hadn't taken a shower in days. He hadn't brushed his teeth in...Well, he didn't have a toothbrush.
Letting yourself rot in yer own self pity.
He sat up, and got off the bed. This was it. Jubilee didn't want him, the X-Men...Well, they could deal with Mystique themselves. Damn her. She was the one that had started all this trouble in the first place.
It was all her fault, the stupid whore.
Oh, so you layin' her had nothing to do with it.
"Rrrrrghh!" With a noise somewhere between human and animal, he held his head in his hands. Talking to himself was not a good sign. He barely remembered that night, anyway. Why did it have to come back and bite him in the ass like that? He'd had plenty of other one-night-stands, and none of the rest had had accidents. Unless.
Logan shuddered and paled as he imagined hundreds of women ringing his doorbell to deliver unwanted children. Tens of thousands of little Logans. Okay, maybe not quite that many, but when the prospect of just one was this terrifying…
"I gotta get out of here before I go nuts," He said out loud to himself. He put on his boots, the only item he had brought, besides his shirt, and that had been torn up in a fight somewhere. He paid an old toothless man for the stay at the front desk. The man grinned, taking the money with Tobacco-stained fingers.
Logan stepped out into the street, relishing the cool wind over his bare skin, then walked to the parking garage. Tilting his head back, he was glad for the fresh air. He was gonna do it this time. Get on the motorcycle and ride to--He suddenly caught a familiar scent, and his eyes snapped open.
"Goin' somewhere, homme?"
Two red eyes glowed in the dark. He turned towards Gambit.
"What the hell are y' doin' here, Gumbo? Go home."
"I don' think so."
Wolverine's eyes darkened menacingly.
"Whaddya mean, 'I don't think so?' Whaddya want?"
"You gotta go back to the chere, Jubilee. I figured I owed it to you fo' tellin' me to go to Rogue."
"She don't want me, Gambit," He said, hurting himself with his own words. "Now move outta the way."
Gambit didn't move. Wolverine's claw's unsheathed.
"Dammit, Gambit! Don't make me hurt you!"
"I'm afraid you leave me no choice," Gambit said, sighing, and in a second Wolverine's whole motorcycle was illuminated, glowing pink. Wolverine blinked a few times, disbelievingly.
"Ya charged it?"
"You can kill me if you want, but de motorcycle goes. You're not leaving."
He meant it. The crazy Cajun really meant it. Logan caught a faint whiff of fear. He shook his head, and sheathed his claws.
"Why are ya tryin' to get me to go back, Gambit?" He asked, finally. Gambit's voice echoed in the garage.
"De chere...She love you, even if she mad right now. An' wit'out you, I don' no if she ever gonna be happy again. I know you ain't. And if you run away..."
He stopped, and there was a flame and curl of smoke as he lit a cigarette.
"How bout we jus' say, I know a good t'ing when I see one."
There was a sudden flicker as the kinetic energy left the motorcycle.
Logan stood there for a moment, both of them unmoving.
She wanted him?
No.
Maybe.
"Hop on, Gumbo. Let's get the hell out of here."
* * *
"So then we get to the hotel...It was a nice hotel...it had, like...a pool, and a shower, an', like velvet curtains..."
"Uh-huh?"
Jubilee and Angelo sat on the couch. They were finishing off the bottle between them, and although they were both too drunk to really talk or listen, they were doing both.
"And then we..uh...you know..." Jubilee laughed drunkenly. Angelo did too, even though he had no idea why.
"It hurt a little at first, and then....it felt fucking good...it lasted, like, forever…healing factor," She giggled, and Angelo blushed as he suddenly realized what she was babbling about. She seemed drift off, and then grew suddenly angry, "And then...then he left me 'cause that stupid blue bitch is having his baby. Or did I leave him? Oh, fuckin' hell..."
She slammed her hand down on the table, making them both jump. Then they both laughed. Then Angelo looked confused.
"Whasso funny?"
"Huh? I dunno.." Jubilee said, taking down the last of the bottle. She giggled and began to sing drunkenly, "I got the uuuurrrrggee."
"Hey...um...Jubilee.." Angelo said, momentarily forgetting her name in his drunkenness.
"Whattisit, Gumbo?"
"I'm Angelo."
"Whatever."
He smiled. The world wobbled a little.
"Tu estas muy hermosa."
She looked confused for a second, then slurred.
"I don't speak espanol, stupid."
He looked just as confused.
"Oh, yeah." He stopped to finish his glass. Thought a minute, then managed:
"You're very pretty."
She grinned at him.
"Thank you, handsome..." she drawled, spilling vodka from her glass as she did so. She seemed to take no heed.
Not quite sure what he was doing, or if it was really even him doing it, Angelo leaned over and kissed her. He missed, first, his lips catching the side of her face, then touching her own. She closed her eyes, and leaned into it. She sighed against his ear,
"Oh, Logan..."
As if on cue, the door was thrown open. Angelo didn't even have time to be angry at Jubilee's confusion with names. He and Jubilee looked up like deer caught in the proverbial headlights.
"Oh…Logan?" She asked, her vision swimming. Waitaminute…He was really there? Dressed in only jeans and boots? Angelo looked about ready to wet his pants.
"Jubilee!" He called, even though he had already obviously seen her. Ignoring Angelo, Logan ran to her. She stumbled up, and collapsed in his arms. He turned menacingly to Skin, who was sitting in a drunken stupor on the sofa.
"What'd you do to her? If ya tried anything at all, I swear ta god I'll castrate ya!"
Angelo blinked and his mouth dropped open. It didn't look like he was going to talk anytime soon. Logan, holding the limp Jubilee over one arm, picked up the bottle and checked the proof. His nostrils flared.
"You stupid bastard! You coulda killed her, I should..." Angelo's eyes widened further at the claws, and he started shaking his head.
"Hey, hey, por favor, hombre, please, please, don' kill me. I didn't do nothin!"
The kid looked like he was about to cry. Containing his rage, Logan managed to get Jubilee back out the door. She looked up at him, and two tears streaked down her face. He could smell the alcohol on her breath like a poisonous perfume. She struggled to speak.
"Logan...Logan issat really you?"
"Yeah, Jubilee baby, I'm here."
"Logan..." She said, beaming brilliantly at him. He thought he'd never seen a more beautiful smile.
Then she threw up on his shoes.
* * *
Waking up was the stupidest thing she'd ever done in a long time, she concluded.
"Uuuuuunnnhhh."
In one corner of the room, the noise awakened Gambit, who was sleeping peacefully in an armchair.
"Here dere, chere. Nice to see you still alive."
"Shut up." She groaned.
Her head was splitting in two, she was sure of it. Her brain was just gonna slosh out on the sheets, and the stupid Cajun was gonna haveta clean it all up. The thought made her nauseous, and she dry heaved.
Quickly, Gambit was at her side. She painfully opened one eye to look at him, the natural light almost blinding her, then noticed the other figure in the room.
"What's he doing here?"
There was a faint tone of resentment in her voice, and Gambit grew defensive at this.
"I don't think you should be kickin' Wolverine out jus' yet chere."
She gave up and let her aching head down on the bed.
"Why not?" She asked sulkily into the covers.
"Well, le homme jus' spent de entire night watchin' you puke yo' guts up into a bucket, fo' one."
He crossed his arms and looked over at Logan, who was snoring softly in a chair beside the bed, and smirked at the miserable girl
"If dat ain't love, den I don' know what is."
"But…" Jubilee started, and trailed off. Gambit smiled, and held out a hand.
"Here, chere, take dese. Dey make you feel better."
She reluctantly took the extra-strength Tylenol from Gambit. Then she managed a weak smile.
"Thanks. Bitch of a hangover, you know, Gumbo."
He nodded his welcome.
"Hey, Remy?"
He looked over at Jubilee, at her change of tone. It was softer, more subdued. He came over and stroked her hair, which was still damp with sweat.
"Yes, chere?"
"Don't let him leave, ok?"
"I ain' goin' nowhere."
Logan didn't exactly smile as he spoke. His eyes were still closed, but he wasn't frowning, and that was close enough.
* * *
She had dreaded it. He had dreaded it. And Mystique had dreaded it. It was 'The Talk,' and Jean assured them all repeatedly that it was necessary. The dialogue between the shapeshifter and Logan was brief.
"Mystique…"
"Call me Raven, Logan."
"Right, Raven. I know there ain't nothin' between us now, but, I want ya ta know, you're not…" He swallowed. Get it out. "You're not alone when it comes to th' kid. I mean, the little guy's half mine, ain't he?"
He gestured to Mystique's stomach, and managed to smile. He had done it.
"I know this is kinda unusual an' all.."
"No, let me thank you, Logan. Apart from going back and changing that whole night, this is the best thing you could've done."
Logan smiled.
"Hey, take care of yourself, huh, Raven?"
She smiled back.
"I will."
He leaned in and akwardly kissed her on the cheek, then left.
* * *
The conversation with Jubilee was quite different.
"So, what I wanna know is, like, how do you feel about this whole thing?"
Mystique was surprised. Throughout the ordeal, no one had asked how she felt. They asked about her health, of course. Sick, well. But not her emotions. It just hadn't been important. She eyed Jubilee suspiciously.
"I'm feeling just fine, Jubilation."
Jubilee cocked her head, and asked.
"Why are you always so cold and distant?"
"What?" The question caught Mystique off guard.
"Are you, like, afraid when you go back to Magneto, we're gonna tell him you haven't been evil enough here or something?"
Mystique looked at her like she was crazy. Then, a sort of half smile appeared on her face.
"You know, Jubilation, I'm beginning to like you a little better."
"Than what? Did you hate me before?"
Mystique actually let herself smile.
"I thought you were annoying."
Jubilee huffed, then shrugged. "Can't say I blame you. I hated you for a while. For stealing my man and having his child and all."
"But you don't any more?"
"Nah," She said, examining her nails. "I figger Wolvie an' I'll have kids someday. Until then…"
She paused, like she was anxious about something.
"What is it?" Mystique asked, wondering what had suddenly got the easygoing girl so tensed up..
"Well…Logan and I talked about…I mean…Would you consider putting the baby up for adoption?"
Mystique was literally speechless for a second.
"You mean to you?" She blurted.
"Yeah! I mean, it's half his kid, and that way I'd have one without swollen feet and whatnot, and we" Jubilee hurried on "…We really want that baby. That is, if you want to give it up."
They walked in silence for a moment.
"I'll have to think about it," Mystique said carefully, at last. "But, at this point, I think it sounds pretty good. I'm not prepared to take on another child right now."
Jubilee practically radiated happiness.
"Thank you so, so, much."
Mystique smiled again, despite herself.
"Think nothing of it, Jubilation."
"Well…" She grinned. "Thanks anyway. And by the way…"
Mystique looked up questioningly.
"Call me Jubilee, huh?"
