Gambit's Fairytale Ending
"Now Gambit show you a real ending, non?" He placed the tape into the VCR and sat back.
"Yeah, yeah, make with the filmin' Gumbo," Jubilee sat happily on a bean bag chair right in front of the TV. The rest piled in and the movie began. Jubilee almost sprayed her Coke onto the television.
"Careful, Jubilee," Scott called, "If you make a mess, you clean it up."
Jubilee just stared at the Cajun. "'Ever After?' That's, like, a chick flick Gumbo. What gives?"
Beast chuckled, "It is set in France, and the Cinderella story gives it a happy ending. I believe that was his intention." Gambit merely nodded, already entranced in the movie.
Wolverine and Jean walked in, the latter with five popcorn bowls trailing behind her, which she passed out without so much as moving an inch. Wolverine stretched out on the floor and Jean sat next to Scott on the loveseat.
"Not another sappy romance! This is three nights in a row!" Apparently, Wolverine had a breaking point when it came to chick flicks, and tonight's choice had gone above and beyond.
"Oui, mon ami, now hush. Gambit wanna hear de movie as well as see, non?" Jubilee chuckled inaudibly in front of him. Well, inaudibly to normal human ears. Wolverine, however, heard it loud and clear.
"Sumpthin funny, darlin'?" Jubilee turned around, mouthful of popcorn, and gave her innocent stare.
"Oo, me? Ah woob meber!" He glared at her, and she looked down guiltily. She swallowed, then continued. "Sorry." He smiled inwardly and reached forward, poking her in the ribs. This, of course, happened to be her one ticklish spot on her whole body, and he knew it. She was sent into a fit of giggles, which she tried to contain for Gambit, but that only made them worse.
By the time the father died, things had settled down, and Jubilee had abandoned the bean bag. She now lay vertical, feet almost against the TV, with her head on Wolverine's stomach, while he stretched out and turned his head to watch the movie. This wasn't his usual cup of tea, so he spent the two plus hours thinking of a really nasty movie he could subject them to.
But as he lay there thinking, his thoughts wandered to Jubilee's birthday present. He'd asked the professor's help, as he was an excellent negotiator. Wolverine was more the "I want it now or I'll rip yer guts out" kind of diplomat, but that usually didn't bode well for the type he needed to chat with. The good news, for both of them, was it looked like Jubilee was going to get her birthday present after all. The bad news was that it might take a little longer than first anticipated. Oh well, he thought, with a present like that, I would wait for years.
"Yoo-hoo! Hey Space-man!" A hand waved in front of his face, breaking him from his thoughts. "Dude, you were a million miles away," she whispered, "Something wrong?"
"Nope, just thinkin' that's all. Whadya need?"
"I asked if ya wanted some popcorn?" She slid the bowl so it lay near his neck, but still within her reach. He grabbed a handful and stuffed it in his mouth.
"Thanks darlin'," he refocused on the movie and realized he'd missed half of it already. How long was he out? He also noticed that Jubilee throwing him worried glances, but was trying to hide them. He chose to ignore them and concentrate on the movie. She escaped, then found her prince, and at last came the part Gambit had been waiting for.
Pretty much the whole team made it a point to glare at him as the happy ending played, to be sure he was appeased. The prior week had been nothing but incessant ramblings from the Cajun about "tragic endings" and "twisted fairytales." Jubilee made the mistake of bringing up the few fairytales that didn't have happy endings, or the villain didn't get what he/she deserved. She had then been subjected to a two hour lecture on the topic. After that, everyone steered clear of the Cajun and his obsessive ranting.
As the movie ended, Jubilee hopped up and over-exaggerated wiping a tear from her eye.
"Oh, when will my prince come for me?" Beast, always ready for an excuse to quote Shakespeare, jumped in immediately.
"But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Jubilee is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief!"
Jubilee melodramatically leapt into his arms. "My only love, sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, that I must love a loathèd enemy."
In a heartbeat, everyone stopped, and all eyes looked at the teenager. Beast was grinning like a lunatic, and Professor Xavier blinked a few times, dumbfounded. She hopped down from the massive blue arms and looked around.
"What? You guys never had to read 'Romeo and Juliet?'"
"The fact that ya actually paid attention and retained any of it amazes me! I slept through the book!"
"Aw, come on, Wolvie. It wasn't that bad. Certainly not as bad as 'MacBeth.'" A gasp was heard from the direction of Beast.
"That was one of William's finest works, my dear girl."
Jubilee snorted, "Hardly. Dude, 'Othello' was better than that. Did you guys see the movie adaptation of that? It was horrible. As if the play wasn't enough."
The professor found his voice, if only for a moment, "Jubilee, you read Shakespeare?"
"I've read most of his stuff. I like Poe, too. What is this, 20 questions? Go to bed!" She bounded out of the room, leaving a dumbstruck audience behind her.
As the professor exited, Wolverine jogged to catch up with him.
"Prof? How are things.ya know?"
The Professor smiled a genuine smile, something he'd been doing a lot of in the past few weeks in regards to this man. When he had come to the office a few weeks ago with the request, Professor Xavier had felt both elated and cautious. He knew it must simply be coincidence, but the younger (older?) man had come to him the day after the first movie night. Secretly, the professor thought perhaps he had had something to do with it. Of course, this changed the way the man would ultimately behave, something that was not easy to do.
"Things are progressing timely, Logan. It took a little more persuasion on my part, but I finally convinced them to accept you. Now all that's left is the ensuing paperwork."
"Professor, I really don't know how to thank you, and I'm sure you're gonna get a great Christmas present from Jubes as soon as she finds out all you've done to help," the younger (older?) man chuckled.
"Seeing all of you happy is reward enough for me. Now, please, go get some rest. I believe the two of us are scheduled for final evaluation tomorrow morning. Good night, Logan."
"Good night, Charles. And thank you again."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hmmmm...what are those two up to?? Stay tuned to find out (and if ya've figured it out, don't spoil it for everyone else!) If ya think ya've got it figured out, email me! I'd love to see how people interpret this. Of course, psychology was always one of my strong suits. Thanks to all my readers, and I do apologize for the long wait. Gambit is not an easy person to find a movie for. Storm is gonna be worse. But, as always, I have my resident expert on the X-Men, Flyer, to tell me all and give me suggestions. So fear not! I shall return.
"Now Gambit show you a real ending, non?" He placed the tape into the VCR and sat back.
"Yeah, yeah, make with the filmin' Gumbo," Jubilee sat happily on a bean bag chair right in front of the TV. The rest piled in and the movie began. Jubilee almost sprayed her Coke onto the television.
"Careful, Jubilee," Scott called, "If you make a mess, you clean it up."
Jubilee just stared at the Cajun. "'Ever After?' That's, like, a chick flick Gumbo. What gives?"
Beast chuckled, "It is set in France, and the Cinderella story gives it a happy ending. I believe that was his intention." Gambit merely nodded, already entranced in the movie.
Wolverine and Jean walked in, the latter with five popcorn bowls trailing behind her, which she passed out without so much as moving an inch. Wolverine stretched out on the floor and Jean sat next to Scott on the loveseat.
"Not another sappy romance! This is three nights in a row!" Apparently, Wolverine had a breaking point when it came to chick flicks, and tonight's choice had gone above and beyond.
"Oui, mon ami, now hush. Gambit wanna hear de movie as well as see, non?" Jubilee chuckled inaudibly in front of him. Well, inaudibly to normal human ears. Wolverine, however, heard it loud and clear.
"Sumpthin funny, darlin'?" Jubilee turned around, mouthful of popcorn, and gave her innocent stare.
"Oo, me? Ah woob meber!" He glared at her, and she looked down guiltily. She swallowed, then continued. "Sorry." He smiled inwardly and reached forward, poking her in the ribs. This, of course, happened to be her one ticklish spot on her whole body, and he knew it. She was sent into a fit of giggles, which she tried to contain for Gambit, but that only made them worse.
By the time the father died, things had settled down, and Jubilee had abandoned the bean bag. She now lay vertical, feet almost against the TV, with her head on Wolverine's stomach, while he stretched out and turned his head to watch the movie. This wasn't his usual cup of tea, so he spent the two plus hours thinking of a really nasty movie he could subject them to.
But as he lay there thinking, his thoughts wandered to Jubilee's birthday present. He'd asked the professor's help, as he was an excellent negotiator. Wolverine was more the "I want it now or I'll rip yer guts out" kind of diplomat, but that usually didn't bode well for the type he needed to chat with. The good news, for both of them, was it looked like Jubilee was going to get her birthday present after all. The bad news was that it might take a little longer than first anticipated. Oh well, he thought, with a present like that, I would wait for years.
"Yoo-hoo! Hey Space-man!" A hand waved in front of his face, breaking him from his thoughts. "Dude, you were a million miles away," she whispered, "Something wrong?"
"Nope, just thinkin' that's all. Whadya need?"
"I asked if ya wanted some popcorn?" She slid the bowl so it lay near his neck, but still within her reach. He grabbed a handful and stuffed it in his mouth.
"Thanks darlin'," he refocused on the movie and realized he'd missed half of it already. How long was he out? He also noticed that Jubilee throwing him worried glances, but was trying to hide them. He chose to ignore them and concentrate on the movie. She escaped, then found her prince, and at last came the part Gambit had been waiting for.
Pretty much the whole team made it a point to glare at him as the happy ending played, to be sure he was appeased. The prior week had been nothing but incessant ramblings from the Cajun about "tragic endings" and "twisted fairytales." Jubilee made the mistake of bringing up the few fairytales that didn't have happy endings, or the villain didn't get what he/she deserved. She had then been subjected to a two hour lecture on the topic. After that, everyone steered clear of the Cajun and his obsessive ranting.
As the movie ended, Jubilee hopped up and over-exaggerated wiping a tear from her eye.
"Oh, when will my prince come for me?" Beast, always ready for an excuse to quote Shakespeare, jumped in immediately.
"But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Jubilee is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief!"
Jubilee melodramatically leapt into his arms. "My only love, sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, that I must love a loathèd enemy."
In a heartbeat, everyone stopped, and all eyes looked at the teenager. Beast was grinning like a lunatic, and Professor Xavier blinked a few times, dumbfounded. She hopped down from the massive blue arms and looked around.
"What? You guys never had to read 'Romeo and Juliet?'"
"The fact that ya actually paid attention and retained any of it amazes me! I slept through the book!"
"Aw, come on, Wolvie. It wasn't that bad. Certainly not as bad as 'MacBeth.'" A gasp was heard from the direction of Beast.
"That was one of William's finest works, my dear girl."
Jubilee snorted, "Hardly. Dude, 'Othello' was better than that. Did you guys see the movie adaptation of that? It was horrible. As if the play wasn't enough."
The professor found his voice, if only for a moment, "Jubilee, you read Shakespeare?"
"I've read most of his stuff. I like Poe, too. What is this, 20 questions? Go to bed!" She bounded out of the room, leaving a dumbstruck audience behind her.
As the professor exited, Wolverine jogged to catch up with him.
"Prof? How are things.ya know?"
The Professor smiled a genuine smile, something he'd been doing a lot of in the past few weeks in regards to this man. When he had come to the office a few weeks ago with the request, Professor Xavier had felt both elated and cautious. He knew it must simply be coincidence, but the younger (older?) man had come to him the day after the first movie night. Secretly, the professor thought perhaps he had had something to do with it. Of course, this changed the way the man would ultimately behave, something that was not easy to do.
"Things are progressing timely, Logan. It took a little more persuasion on my part, but I finally convinced them to accept you. Now all that's left is the ensuing paperwork."
"Professor, I really don't know how to thank you, and I'm sure you're gonna get a great Christmas present from Jubes as soon as she finds out all you've done to help," the younger (older?) man chuckled.
"Seeing all of you happy is reward enough for me. Now, please, go get some rest. I believe the two of us are scheduled for final evaluation tomorrow morning. Good night, Logan."
"Good night, Charles. And thank you again."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hmmmm...what are those two up to?? Stay tuned to find out (and if ya've figured it out, don't spoil it for everyone else!) If ya think ya've got it figured out, email me! I'd love to see how people interpret this. Of course, psychology was always one of my strong suits. Thanks to all my readers, and I do apologize for the long wait. Gambit is not an easy person to find a movie for. Storm is gonna be worse. But, as always, I have my resident expert on the X-Men, Flyer, to tell me all and give me suggestions. So fear not! I shall return.