Usual: Characters? NOT MINE. Money? NONE BEING MADE. All things belong to those who own them. I haven't read any Marvel in the past two years, so I don't know who's currently on what team or what their latest angst-issues are. So consider this a slight AU, since I don't claim to have a clue. With that, ever onwards.....
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Lightning Flashes
a Jeanne M. production
Now there's a wall between us, somethin' there's been lost
I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed.
Just to think that it all began on a long-forgotten morn.
"Come in," she said,
"I'll give you shelter from the storm."
"Shelter from the Storm" by Bob Dylan
He winced as the older man slammed him into the wall. "Upset her and you die, understand? Right now you're the only person besides Ororo that she'll speak to, and if you fuck it up, I'll make you wish you'd died when Rouge left you in Antarctica." With that, Warren Worthington dropped Remy and stalked off, leaving Remy to rub his shoulder and glance questioningly at the aforementioned Windrider, who was scolding Warren on his communication techniques.
"Non. It's fine, Stormy. Warren's just wantin' to make sure Remy don' seduce the p'tite while her heart is still broken up." Remy shrugged his aching shoulder and grinned at the scowling Angel. "B'cause is well known dat Remy is a slut."
Warren scowled harder, and Ororo started laughing. A rich, musical sound that made him grin all the wider. "Remy, don't tease Warren. He's trying to be supportive of Jubilee."
"Den tell him to quit threatenin' me!" He fell to his knees throwing wide his arms in mock supplication. "For de love of God, 'Ro, tell de man dat Remy been living the life of a monk since he came to dis house! I ain't seduced nobody! Rougey don't want dis boy no more, an' Remy never laid a hand on a lady dat didn't want it! Heck, Remy been such a good boy, he's even stayed away from the femmes dat did want it!"
"Remy!" Ororo laughed harder as Warren managed to turn an even deeper shade of purple. "Remy LeBeau, I will admit you have not seduced anyone lately, but you are hardly a monk. You have neither the piety nor the self-deprecation necessary for such a lifestyle."
"Ouch." Remy fell foward, curling on the floor in mock agony. "Dat hurt, Stormy. Dat hurt dis boy." He suddenly sat up, grinning slyly as he crawled on his hands and knees towards Ororo. "I'll forgive only if you give dis boy a kiss."
"You are impossible!" Ororo wagged a finger at him as the two of them watch Warren stalk off in a huff. "And you wonder why you don't get along with the other male members of the team." She sat down beside him on the floor, a smirk still on her face. "You can be so juvenile at times."
"Ehn. Dey just worried dat their 'member' don't measure up to Remy's." He shrugged carelessly and leered at her, prompting another chuckle from Ororo. This time, however, she heard the muffled giggle underneath the sound of her own laughter, and her head snapped up to the figure at the top of the stairs. The soft laughter stopped abruptly, and Jubilee gave a brief wave before vanishing into the shadows in the upstairs hallway.
"How long was she standing there, Remy?"
"Since Warren came chargin' down the hall hellbent on makin' Remy a eunuch." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Dat's why I played it up. She's been far too serious lately. De p'tite's gotta learn to laugh again, or she's gonna turn all bitter an' twisted, just like everyone else in dis damn house." He stood, helping Ororo to her feet. "No one's got any sense of perspective 'round here. For all dat Charlie is a shrink, everyone here just stews in their problems. Ain't healthy."
"And you're the model of how to pursue mental health?" Ororo's raised eyebrow elegantly underscores her skepticism. "My friend, your single-minded pursuit of Rouge has long convinced many of us that you are off the deep end."
"Dat's your opinion. I don't say anythin' about your relationships, Stormy. Don't go throwin' stones at mine." He grinned,
giving her his biggest possible 'but I'm innocent' eyes he could possibly make, before strolling off down the hall.
**********
He watched from the woods, lurking just beyond the treeline. The atmosphere seemed hushed, too subdued. He had seen his former teammates come and go around the yard all day, but hadn't caught a glimpse of her yet. It was a beautiful day. Sunny, warm, not a cloud in the sky. The type of day she loved to spend rollerblading around the grounds or swimming, but he hadn't seen her come out of the house. Everyone else was playing basketball, he watched as Bobby stole the ball from Scott, only to have it snatched away. Fear gnawed at his stomach- what if she didn't live here anymore? What if Jubilee had left, moved on, like Kitty? Logan watched Ororo exit the house, balancing a plate of sandwiches on one hand and carrying a pitcher of lemonade in the other, prompting a mass exodus from the basketball court to the picnic tables nearby. He heard her laugh, and watched as Remy stole two sandwiches from the plate as 'Ro scolded him. Logan couldn't hear the Cajun's reply as the man sauntered back into the house with his food, but the thunderous look on Worthington's face was priceless.
Logan stretched, shifting position to get a slightly better view. It hadn't been that long since his last visit, but for some reason he was hesitant to make his presence known. He glanced around, taking another assessment of which X-Men were in residence.
That's when he saw it.
The flapping of Remy's brown trenchcoat flickered in his peripheral vision. Logan looked up to watch LeBeau as he exited Ororo's skylight and made his way toward the chimney, both sandwiches still in his hands. He stopped by the edge, leaning over to rap on one of the windows.
A few moments later a slight figure stuck her head out, then tossed a brown pack up and Remy caught it. She climbed into the window to swing her way onto the roof via the drainpipe, somersaulting her way away from the edge. Logan felt something give internally as he watched the woman chase Remy around the skylight, demanding her lunch. Jubilee. She was still living at the mansion, still an X-Man. Some of the rumors that had drifted his way had made him wonder if she would stay. It had sounded like she hadn't been getting along too well with Chuck, and 'Ro had wondered if maybe a vacation was what Jubilee needed more than anything else.
**********
"Damn you Remy, give me my sandwich!" Jubilee darted towards him and Remy sidled behind the chimney away from her.
"Non. Not until you promise to come downstairs and eat dinner with everyone tonight." He dangled the bribe at the end of his arm, swinging it back and forth. "Think the sandwich baggie could protect it if I decided to toss it off the roof?" A wordless shriek was the only reply as a now desperately hungry Jubilee chased him around the skylight. "All ya gotta do is have dinner downstairs, and this yummy sandwich is yours."
"Why should I? It's not like you're going to eat my sandwich if I refuse your irrational demands. That's my sandwich, Ororo made it for me. You don't even like cucumber and butter sandwiches!" She snatched greedily at it, but he yanked it away to hold it over the roof's edge. "Fine! I surrender! I'll go downstairs tonight and allow myself to be the object of very thinly disguised pity and eat Scott's very scary food. I will sit stoically and let people think very solemn thoughts about how sorry they are for me and how superior they are for not being in my situation, and I will keep a straight face and silently hate everyone for forgetting that I'm a fully-manifested telepath and I can 'hear' everything they are thinking since they aren't bothering to shield from me. And I will do all this for the sake of a cucumber and butter sandwich on white bread. Are you happy?"
"Oui." He tossed her the sandwich, making a face as she devoured it in two bites. "P'tite, how can you eat dat? Those are disgusting!"
"How can you smoke those foul cancer sticks or drink that nasty-ass beer?" She rolled her eyes blissfully as she licked the butter from her fingers. "Ah, the food of the Gods."
"P'tite, dat's just nasty. Cut it out."
She grinned innocently, batting her eyes at him. "Wuss. I bet you're going to whine when I show you what beverage I brought for our rooftop picnic."
"Merde, not again woman. Don't you be gettin' Remy in any more trouble." A deliberately wicked grin was her only response as she tauntingly drew a shimmering amber bottle from her pack. "Dat's it. You're tryin' to get Xavier to kill dis poor Cajun boy."
"Chicken."
"Bitch."
"Man-whore."
"What?!?!?" Remy clutched at his heart, staggering backwards. "P'tite, I ask you not to get Remy in trouble by continuing to steal Xavier's very nice, expensive brandy, and you call him a....a....."
"Man-whore?" Jubilee supplied cheerfully. "But Remy, that's why all the girls like you. You're so easy to manipulate...."
**********
The sound of her laughter and his sputtered protests wafted faintly down from the roof, indecipherable to anyone without his enhanced senses. Now was not a good time. Maybe later. Maybe.......
Not Done Yet......