Author's Note and Disclaimer: "The Birthday Wish" is the beginning of an
extended story known simply as 'The Venus Factor'. Events within this part
of the tale take place in a niche that I have carved out between 'X-Men
Unlimited' #34 and 'Uncanny X-Men' #402, about 3.5 years after the
disbanding of the Generation X team. Cut me a little slack and just run
with the time line. As always, these characters are not mine, nor is any
profit made off of using their likenesses. If anyone from Marvel ever
reads this, this true believer would love to write for you. And stop
dismissing Jubilee; she's a great character. Until that day, MMM!
***
"Mornin', M," Jubilee smiled as she walked into the kitchen, grabbing the Sugar Bombs from the cabinet. Leaning back against the counter, she began eating them straight from the box. Just like any other morning.
Monet shot an appraising glance at her roommate's attire and disheveled hair and then looked at the clock on the wall. "I have a hard time understanding how even you could think that three in the afternoon was the morning," she replied.
"Well, we all have our days," the short Asian girl replied, pausing her meal to twist her long, dark hair up and out of the way. "Today happens to be mine."
"So, it is... Happy Birthday, Jubilee," Monet said, her face splitting into a warm smile.
They hadn't always been the best of friends... Hell, there were many times that they had downright hated each other. After Everett's death, however, Jubilee had been the only person who understood what she was going through. And that meant something. They had been through a lot since she had moved out to L.A. to join Jubilee and Angelo, and it hadn't always been easy –especially after Angelo left last year- but Monet was proud to call Jubilee a friend.
She stood from the table to give her a hug. "So, how long will it take you to get ready for a birthday shopping trip?" Monet laughed. "I thought I would let you choose your own present this year since you never seem to like anything that I choose."
"Schowpink?" Jubilee grinned through a mouthful of cereal. She slammed the box back onto the counter, dashing for her room. "Give me five minutes!" she called over her shoulder.
Monet laughed to herself. Their friends had wondered how she would get Jubilee to agree to leave the house on a day that she traditionally spent moping in her room, but Monet had known it wouldn't be a difficult task.
Three and a half minutes later, Monet was shutting the door behind them, careful to leave it unlocked.
***
'Goodmornin', Sleepin' Beauty,' Logan smiled from the top of a neighboring building, looking down at Jubilee as she and Monet walked out of their apartment building. His breath caught in his throat; he hadn't seen her since her last birthday. Long gone were the days of the yellow raincoat and shortalls... Today she wore a black miniskirt with a small, red- striped shirt, and a pair of sporty sneakers. Her hair was up in pigtails. Logan closed his eyes, imagining her standing close too him, looking up at him, pretending to pout. "Wolvie, I'm not a kid..." she would whine.
"Don't I know that now?" he asked himself aloud, his voice pitched low in a primitive growl. He watched her walk down the street. It was all that he could do...
'Do I do this for her, or is it really for me?' he wondered, not for the first time since waking. When he had come here the first time, it was only because he couldn't imagine Jubilee's birthday passing and not seeing her.
They had never had a falling out... They just drifted apart. He could see now that it had begun when she had left Xavier's mansion to join Generation X. As Jubilee had gotten older, there was a part of her that was simply cut off from him. His Jubes, his little firecracker... And there was a part that just wasn't his. As time had passed, the part of her life that he was excluded from grew bigger and bigger, the gaps between his visits to see her at Emma's school longer and longer, and the palpable tension between them thicker and thicker.
Then one day she was just gone, leaving him feeling cold and alone. He wondered what he had done... He assumed he must have done something. Why else, even with the difficulties they had had, would she have left him with out a word?
Despite the fact that she had left him no forwarding address, he refused to believe that she wouldn't want to see him. After a few months, he finally tracked her down through Monet, who had sent a letter to one of the GenXers that happened to be visiting the mansion... He couldn't remember which of the little brats it had been. All he remembered was that return address that he had read from a crumpled envelope held twenty feet across the room. The way he figured, with his enhanced senses, there was no way that he couldn't have seen it. Surely she wouldn't mind him just knowing where she was.
Months later, when her birthday rolled around, he decided it was time to find her.
Logan flew to Los Angeles, and had found himself standing on top of the building across the street from Jubilee's apartment. He wasn't snooping, he told himself, eager to rid his conscious of guilt. He was waiting. Waiting for the moment when he would know that she was waiting for him... Waiting for her to...
Logan shook his head, clearing it of the unwanted memory. He still didn't know what he had wanted Jubilee to wait for him for. He didn't deserve it. So he had waited alone that year. The entire day he waited, and never even saw her. The blinds were drawn, the windows darkened. He wasn't even sure if she had been home. He had debated on whether or not to leave the gift, but in the end decided he would hold onto it and save it. If Jubes didn't want him knowing where she was yet, well, he wouldn't tell her he knew.
He carried himself back to the present. Picking up a bottle of whiskey, he took a long swig. Should he have followed her? While it pained him that he might not see her again today, he dismissed the thought instantly. It was bad enough that he was lurking on rooftops and looking through windows like some sort of sick peeping tom, he thought, shuddering to himself. No matter how much he wanted to see Jubilee, there was no call to resort to stalking. Hell, he'd kill any other asshole on the spot that he caught doing the same thing to her, no questions asked.
Mulling over this disturbing thought, his mind swung back to last year. He had held his vigil on the same rooftop again, eager for a chance to even see his beloved little girl. He recalled how, two bottles of scotch into the day, he finally saw her through her bedroom window. He had watched her watch movies through the window all afternoon and long into the night. He pictured himself in her room with her, content with her companionship, he sitting on the bed with his back against the same window he stared through, she laying in his lap, comfortable in the cute pajama pants and tank top she was wearing. He could see himself there, playing with her surprisingly long hair... He pretended that that's where he was throughout the evening. What a night they would have had... His sensitive eyesight watched every minute of every movie with her. He was too far to hear the words, but he didn't need to. They were all of their favorite movies. The night ended without his Jubes looking out the window longingly, or even picking up the phone. The last movie ended and then her light was gone. Another year gone by. Another year where she hadn't needed or wanted him.
He sat on the rooftop, knees drawn to his chest, silently smoking a cigar and sipping off of the whiskey, settling in to wait for Jubilee's hopeful return. He looked at the sun overhead. On a day like today, a man out in the open would much prefer a cold beer, but he would have felt asinine bringing a cooler with him. Whatever this was, it was no picnic. Steeling himself for the wait, Logan asked himself for the thousandth time why the hell he had bothered to come here.
***
"Mornin', M," Jubilee smiled as she walked into the kitchen, grabbing the Sugar Bombs from the cabinet. Leaning back against the counter, she began eating them straight from the box. Just like any other morning.
Monet shot an appraising glance at her roommate's attire and disheveled hair and then looked at the clock on the wall. "I have a hard time understanding how even you could think that three in the afternoon was the morning," she replied.
"Well, we all have our days," the short Asian girl replied, pausing her meal to twist her long, dark hair up and out of the way. "Today happens to be mine."
"So, it is... Happy Birthday, Jubilee," Monet said, her face splitting into a warm smile.
They hadn't always been the best of friends... Hell, there were many times that they had downright hated each other. After Everett's death, however, Jubilee had been the only person who understood what she was going through. And that meant something. They had been through a lot since she had moved out to L.A. to join Jubilee and Angelo, and it hadn't always been easy –especially after Angelo left last year- but Monet was proud to call Jubilee a friend.
She stood from the table to give her a hug. "So, how long will it take you to get ready for a birthday shopping trip?" Monet laughed. "I thought I would let you choose your own present this year since you never seem to like anything that I choose."
"Schowpink?" Jubilee grinned through a mouthful of cereal. She slammed the box back onto the counter, dashing for her room. "Give me five minutes!" she called over her shoulder.
Monet laughed to herself. Their friends had wondered how she would get Jubilee to agree to leave the house on a day that she traditionally spent moping in her room, but Monet had known it wouldn't be a difficult task.
Three and a half minutes later, Monet was shutting the door behind them, careful to leave it unlocked.
***
'Goodmornin', Sleepin' Beauty,' Logan smiled from the top of a neighboring building, looking down at Jubilee as she and Monet walked out of their apartment building. His breath caught in his throat; he hadn't seen her since her last birthday. Long gone were the days of the yellow raincoat and shortalls... Today she wore a black miniskirt with a small, red- striped shirt, and a pair of sporty sneakers. Her hair was up in pigtails. Logan closed his eyes, imagining her standing close too him, looking up at him, pretending to pout. "Wolvie, I'm not a kid..." she would whine.
"Don't I know that now?" he asked himself aloud, his voice pitched low in a primitive growl. He watched her walk down the street. It was all that he could do...
'Do I do this for her, or is it really for me?' he wondered, not for the first time since waking. When he had come here the first time, it was only because he couldn't imagine Jubilee's birthday passing and not seeing her.
They had never had a falling out... They just drifted apart. He could see now that it had begun when she had left Xavier's mansion to join Generation X. As Jubilee had gotten older, there was a part of her that was simply cut off from him. His Jubes, his little firecracker... And there was a part that just wasn't his. As time had passed, the part of her life that he was excluded from grew bigger and bigger, the gaps between his visits to see her at Emma's school longer and longer, and the palpable tension between them thicker and thicker.
Then one day she was just gone, leaving him feeling cold and alone. He wondered what he had done... He assumed he must have done something. Why else, even with the difficulties they had had, would she have left him with out a word?
Despite the fact that she had left him no forwarding address, he refused to believe that she wouldn't want to see him. After a few months, he finally tracked her down through Monet, who had sent a letter to one of the GenXers that happened to be visiting the mansion... He couldn't remember which of the little brats it had been. All he remembered was that return address that he had read from a crumpled envelope held twenty feet across the room. The way he figured, with his enhanced senses, there was no way that he couldn't have seen it. Surely she wouldn't mind him just knowing where she was.
Months later, when her birthday rolled around, he decided it was time to find her.
Logan flew to Los Angeles, and had found himself standing on top of the building across the street from Jubilee's apartment. He wasn't snooping, he told himself, eager to rid his conscious of guilt. He was waiting. Waiting for the moment when he would know that she was waiting for him... Waiting for her to...
Logan shook his head, clearing it of the unwanted memory. He still didn't know what he had wanted Jubilee to wait for him for. He didn't deserve it. So he had waited alone that year. The entire day he waited, and never even saw her. The blinds were drawn, the windows darkened. He wasn't even sure if she had been home. He had debated on whether or not to leave the gift, but in the end decided he would hold onto it and save it. If Jubes didn't want him knowing where she was yet, well, he wouldn't tell her he knew.
He carried himself back to the present. Picking up a bottle of whiskey, he took a long swig. Should he have followed her? While it pained him that he might not see her again today, he dismissed the thought instantly. It was bad enough that he was lurking on rooftops and looking through windows like some sort of sick peeping tom, he thought, shuddering to himself. No matter how much he wanted to see Jubilee, there was no call to resort to stalking. Hell, he'd kill any other asshole on the spot that he caught doing the same thing to her, no questions asked.
Mulling over this disturbing thought, his mind swung back to last year. He had held his vigil on the same rooftop again, eager for a chance to even see his beloved little girl. He recalled how, two bottles of scotch into the day, he finally saw her through her bedroom window. He had watched her watch movies through the window all afternoon and long into the night. He pictured himself in her room with her, content with her companionship, he sitting on the bed with his back against the same window he stared through, she laying in his lap, comfortable in the cute pajama pants and tank top she was wearing. He could see himself there, playing with her surprisingly long hair... He pretended that that's where he was throughout the evening. What a night they would have had... His sensitive eyesight watched every minute of every movie with her. He was too far to hear the words, but he didn't need to. They were all of their favorite movies. The night ended without his Jubes looking out the window longingly, or even picking up the phone. The last movie ended and then her light was gone. Another year gone by. Another year where she hadn't needed or wanted him.
He sat on the rooftop, knees drawn to his chest, silently smoking a cigar and sipping off of the whiskey, settling in to wait for Jubilee's hopeful return. He looked at the sun overhead. On a day like today, a man out in the open would much prefer a cold beer, but he would have felt asinine bringing a cooler with him. Whatever this was, it was no picnic. Steeling himself for the wait, Logan asked himself for the thousandth time why the hell he had bothered to come here.