O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Disclaimer O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
X-Men Evolution and it's Characters do not belong to me. I'm writing this for pure fun and selfish reasons; those being that I want to see all my crack ships do very very naughty things ;)
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O AN O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Yo! Well It looks like here I am again, starting a new fic when I have so many other unfinished oneshots series in the works. Ah well, what can we do right?
I'm not expecting this story to be anywhere on the level as Rebellious Hearts was, haha in all honesty I don't see anything I ever write to be that grand again cause that story was definitely a doozy and you know took; a decade to write XD With that being said the chapters to this fic will definitely be way smaller which hopefully also means sooner updates :) I've had this plot bunny for quite a few years so it's nice to finally put it into words. Hopefully it will entertain you as much as the picture in my head entertains me.
The ships for this are of course my usual for the Evo fandom so that will be Romy, Xietro, Jonda, Jubilay and Amarto. There shall be some steamy scenes in future chapters so something to look forward to if you're into that kind of stuff :P
I'd like to thank everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter to Rebellious Hearts. You guys are awesome and I'm so glad so many of you were satisfied with it!
Something I want to point out about this fic is that it will be heavy in Jubilee's POV, which does make Jubilay the main ship but like in RH all the other ships have their storyline and will have their moments to shine. You will have to be patient to see a few characters (by chapter four they should all already be introduced), so bare with me. And I think that's enough about that…
Enjoy and drop me a review telling me what you think.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Summary O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Tattoos can be many things; Art, self expressions, memories, emotions, maybe even a reminder of a drunken night. One thing above all is that they have the ability to capture and reveal unspoken aspects of human relationships, both past and present. [Jubilay][Romy][Xietro][Jonda][Amarto][Hints of Others]
Long story Short: The X-men Evo Tattoo AU no one asked for.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Chapter 1 O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"I can't believe no one's called me back yet."
"I know! You practically live there, if they wanted someone to work there you would think it would be you, then again maybe they'd think you'll be doing more shopping than working."
Almond shaped eyes narrowed in faux annoyance and turned to the girl walking besides her. A gentle smile was curled on the brown haired girl's lips, her eyes looking ahead.
She was about to playfully retort and ponder, why they were friends, but instead her mouth just opened and closed in quick succession. She knew why they were friends, because Amara Aquilla's family had been kind enough to sign up as a host to the exchange student program opening up the door for a girl from Beverly Hills to come and finish her last year of high school in the empire state.
After a minute of walking quietly Jubilation Lee shrugged her shoulders up, "I can't help it, there's outlets everywhere back home," she argued thinking back to the multiple times she had been called a mall rat. She was surprised actually, that things were as different as they were here, she had expected New York to be somewhat similar to L.A. but Bayville, the small city she got put in was small and rural. Nothing like the movies, but then again the movies always showcase New York City, she was still far from there.
The soft giggle from her friend and housemate broke her out of her thoughts from home and she turned to her. Her lips were curled upwards good naturedly, eyes looking ahead of them. After a few seconds of silence and when it was apparent that Amara wasn't going to add anything else Jubilation found herself looking at the area around them.
Most of the time Amara's driver took them to their desired destination so it came to a surprise when Amara had announced that they would be going out after breakfast and that they would be leaving on foot. As she surveyed the area around them she realized that it actually didn't look very familiar at all.
"Hey...where are we? And where are we going?"
"Oh that's right, I guess we really don't come to this part of town very much. We're on Genosha street, we're going to walk a few more blocks to Nova Avenue, there's a few boutiques on that street and they're usually always looking for help during the summer. Since you weren't getting a call back from any places at the mall I thought you could give a few places there a try."
"Oh yeah, that's a great idea! Whoa...what's this place?" She asked as they passed a large building taking up most of the block.
Amara looked at the place carefully and shrugged, "Honestly I don't know...I hardly come to this side of town." Her eyes roamed the building as they walked until they got about halfway the length of it, pale blue fluorescent words popped out at them, "The Hg Lounge," she read out loud and carefully.
Jubilation found herself reading the words in her head as Amara voiced them. Her lips parted to wonder what the place could be but before she could say anything a smooth masculine voice cut through their conversation.
"Mercury."
"Hmm?" Her voice let out and before she had time to register what she was doing her head turned towards the new voice. Her brown almond eyes met with a dark blue steel color, they eyed her carefully and as they did her eyes roamed over his figure as well. His hair was an odd dual color. Blonde hair in somewhat of a fauxhawk style with orange bangs spiking out in random places, almost looking like lightning bolts. His ears had large black gauges and two pieces of metal glittered at her from his lips. His blue shirt matched his eyes nicely and dark black jeans hugged his legs.
"Mercury," he repeated before bringing a square box to his lips. A sucking sound was heard before he blew out a cloud of smoke and noticing her confused gaze he added, "It's called The Mercury Lounge."
"Oh..." she answered lamely and turned away from the intense gaze back towards the building. Besides her Amara had taken a quick glance at the boy, who didn't look much older than them before turning to reread the side of the wall.
"Mercury Lounge?" She repeated before realization sunk in making both her brows raise and her lips turn into a small circle emitting a low "oooohh..." after a moment her hands clapped together in amusement, "I get it! Hg, the elemental symbol for Mercury! That's really clever!" She turned happily to the boy but to her and Jubilations surprise he was gone.
He had been standing under a tree near the road intersection. The light was shining green so it was possible that he had crossed but to have done it that fast without either girl noticing was odd.
"Where did he go?"
The almond eyes surveyed the area. After a few moments her shoulders shrugged up, "I have no idea...it's like he just disappeared."
At the words Amara grabbed on to the sleeves of her yellow jacket and leaned into her friend, "Ahh...do you think he was a ghost? Maybe he haunts this place!"
Jubilation gave a small chuckle and shook her head, "I doubt it, we were probably just too focused on the building to see him walk away," she answered while she brought the steel orbs back to mind.
"If you say so," Amara answered, loosening the hold on her arm. "So what do you think this place is?"
"Can only be two things with this kind of name, A gentleman's club or a night one."
Amara's cheeks flushed at the words but she gave a mischievous smile and said, "Hey, maybe they're hiring."
Jubilation shook her head and elbowed her, "I don't think so...come on let's keep going to wherever you're taking me."
Amara laughed but continued on her way. When they reached the corner of the street she expected Amara to cross but was surprised when she turned the corner instead. The almond shaped eyes couldn't help but look in the opposite direction to see if she caught a glimpse of the boy from earlier. Nothing.
She turned back to Amara but bumped into the dark skinned girl harshly making both of them rock from the unexpected stop.
"Ow, why'd you stop?"
"What about here?"
"..." The brown orbs widened as she looked at the lettering on the window. "...No way."
"Why not? Arts your thing right? Well isn't this art?" The dark skinned girl asked.
"Just because I'm good at drawing doesn't mean I can do this," The Asian girl answered, her hands gesturing wildly at the building. "I'm sure drawing on a canvas is waaaaaaay different than drawing on a person...with a needle nonetheless."
"But look, it says no experience needed..."
"Nope, now come on, let's keep going to this fancy princess sounding boutique area you're talking about," Jubilation remarked and started walking past her friend. She didn't make it far.
"I dare you."
Jubilation turned to stare at the brown haired girl, lips curled in triumph. They had lived together for 9 months, and in those nine months they had learned a lot about each other. For example she knew that Amara's favorite color was royal purple, and in return she knew her own favorite color was yellow.
She knew Amara was fascinated by volcanoes like she liked the sounds and colors of fireworks. She knew that her roommate was somewhat shy and quiet opposing her rebellious daring manner.
"I triple dog dare you..." Amara repeated when a few seconds of silence went by.
Jubilation looked away from her friend and stared at the help wanted sign, she then sighed and walked towards the door. "They're going to say no but if you want me to waste my time..."
Amara could only smile as she walked through the door, her eyes reading the red lettering on the window before taking her first step in, the name of the place repeating in her mind. Scarlet Ink.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
The small bell that went off when she entered through the door echoed around her, it quickly faded into the low growls of the metal music playing on the speakers. The lighting in the small hallway was low making her blink a few times so her eyes could adjust. Once they did she was able to see that the walls were painted a dark red. Frames littered both sides and as she took small steps forwards she was able to see that inside the frames were multiple designs.
She walked a few steps, her eyes staying glued to the wall. She was so concentrated on the many different designs that she didn't realize when the hallway ended merging into a bigger room and continued walking alongside the wall.
The frames eventually led to a circular opening, as she got closer she realized that it was another room. She took a step in and immediately saw a chair at the center. Her eyes then darted side to side. On the left was a clear counter, inside were objects that although she had never used before she was able to recognize as smoking vapes and bongs. The wall behind the counter had small cubby's with different circular bottles, each decorated with colorful labels.
On the right there was another clear counter. This one was holding multiple types of piercing rings and a small section of what looked like temporary tattoos.
She made to take a step deeper inside but before she could even move there was the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her. The unexpected sound made her jump and she turned around looking like a deer caught in headlights. Four pairs of eyes were watching her and she suddenly felt her face get hot as her gaze briefly met with familiar bluish gray orbs.
Four individuals were on the other side of the room. She had been so lost in all the frames around her that she had failed to see how large the room really was but across from the room with the singular chair there was a windowed counter. They stood behind it, watching her. The first person her eyes landed on was the boy from outside. Next to him was a short girl, her hair a dark brown that went down to her waist. Across from them was a brown haired boy, the sides of his hair curving out looking like horns.
The last person was a girl, with curious sapphire eyes, short black hair with the tips colored a dark red. "Can we help you?" she asked after what seemed like an eternity.
"Uh...hi...I um...I saw your sign outside, the help needed?"
The girl looked her up and down. After a few seconds of silence she looked away and started rummaging with items around her. When she was done she lifted a clip board and put it on the counter top before her.
"Go ahead and fill this out."
She slowly made her way towards them. On her way she noticed a couch, coffee table and pool table in the large room. Open binders littered the low table and as she passed she noticed that it was filled were more symbols and designs.
When she finally reached them she took the clipboard, taking a seat on one of the bar stools tucked under the counter. The word application popped out at her in big bold letters. She stared at it hesitantly for a few seconds before the scratching of pen to paper was finally heard.
The atmosphere in the tattoo parlor seemed to go back to normal, or what she assumed was normal for them. While she continued filing out her application she heard them start moving around and conversing.
"Hey did the iPod die? The music stopped." Jubilation peeked up to see that it had been the brown haired girl who spoke. Her hazel green eyes were trained on the dark skinned boy who as she glanced at again seemed oddly familiar.
"Guess so," he answered and shrugged.
"Who closed last night?" She demanded, annoyance clear in her voice.
The dark skinned boy smirked before turning to look at the boy from outside. She turned to him too but quickly looked away noticing that instead of sharing the look with the other guy his steel blue eyes were still trained on her.
"Ray you dic..."
"Stop it. Just plug it back in," the first girl interrupted.
"Fine."
"Since the iPod died it's like a new day started right? Let's pick a new..."
"NO! It turned out to be my day and it's not my fault that someone sucks and doesn't know how to charge a phone."
"But..."
The arguing went back and forth making it hard for her to concentrate on her application. Her eyes darted back and forth between the dark skinned duo and her paper. From the corner of her eye she could see the girl who had originally handed her the application roll her eyes but the corners of her mouth perked up in amusement.
As she was finishing the application the girl turned to her, "I guess I should have told you before you started filling it out but this is just a temporary position."
"Oh..."
"Yeah...it's really just a summer job. This time of year our service needs go up. Could be because everyone is out of school vacationing, or they're out there partying so much that they end up here but we get pretty busy so if you're looking for a permanent position..."
"I'm not. I'm just here for the summer and will be going back home in August."
"Where are you from?"
"California."
There was a whistle that made her turn to see that the others were all watching her again. "You're a long way from home," dark haired boy stated.
She eyed him curiously, and he did the same almost as if he recognized her which seemed to confirm her thoughts of seeing him before.
"I'm here on a transfer student program. Signed up to it because the art program at the Institute of Higher Learning here was rumored to be a great way to qualify for a scholarship."
"You're an artist?" The short haired girl with dark red tips asked peeking a brow.
"Aspiring to be, I've been admitted to California's Institute of Art. That's why I'll definitely be gone by mid August."
"Wow, that seems exciting. Congratulations."
"Thank you..."
"...so this position is really just the front desk. You won't be tattooing..."
"Thank god," she interrupted. "No offense. I like to draw but I don't know how I'd feel about doing it on someone's skin...I'd be scared to death to make a mistake," she signed the final signature on the page and handed the clipboard back.
"...alright then. Well we actually just put up the sign so we'll probably be screening a few more applicants over the weekend. We'll let you know..." she took a peek at the paper, "Jubilation."
"You can call me Jubilee, and sure..." Jubilee threw her weight from one foot to the other as they awkwardly stared from one another, "Well...thanks, have a good day," she lifted her hand in a small wave and high tailed it out of the tattoo parlor.
When she made it outside she saw Amara rocking on her heels looking across the street. When she heard her approaching she turned and gave her a big smile.
"Hey! How did it go?"
Jubilee groaned and walked past her, making her way to the tinted window of the shop and smacking her head lightly on it.
"That bad?"
"Just remind me to stop being such a hardcore dare enthusiast," she mumbled before taking her forehead off the dark glass to repeat the action.
Amara giggled, "Well if it makes you feel better you probably won't see anyone in there again."
"Actually...you know that guy from the gym? The one you think is 'dreamy'," she said the word all cutesy mimicking the way Amara would say it.
Amara's cheeks flushed, "The guy with the sun tattoo on his neck?"
"Yeah, I think he works here."
"Why do you think that?"
"Cause he was in there."
"Oh...so maybe you will see someone there again."
"That guy was in there too..."
"What guy?"
"The Mercury guy."
"OH! I guess that makes sense since he disappeared so quickly. Did he say anything to you?"
"No."
"Hmm..." Amara mumbles out loud before shrugging, "Well what now?"
"Let's go to that boutique. Something tells me I have a better chance there," Jubilee linked arms with the dark skinned girl and walked away from the scarlet themed tattoo parlor.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Scarlet Ink O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"Well...that was interesting."
Wanda looked over her shoulder towards the only other girl in the shop. Laura Kinney was making her way to her. Her long dark brown hair bounced side to side with each step, when she reached her, her hand went up the long bangs in front of her face and tugged them behind her ear, hazel green eyes looking downward at the newly filled out application.
"What do you think?"
Wanda gave a slight shrug, "Too soon to tell. We just put the sign up so let's wait at least till the end of the weekend to think anything."
"I thought she was cute."
Laura rolled her eyes, "Why am I not surprised?"
The dark skinned, brown eyed boy, Roberto Da Costa stuck his tongue out at her. In response he got her middle finger gestured back. After he laughed it off he brought his hand to his chin, "You know what though? She seemed familiar, like I've seen her before."
"Really?" she asked, bringing her middle finger down. He nodded, "Wonder where you would have." he shrugged in response. She mimicked him before turning to the last individual in the room. "What about you? Think she was cute too?"
Wanda turned to him as well. Ray Crisp stood taller than all of them at six feet. His head was tilted to the side in a pensive manner. Bluish gray orbs looking from one to the other. His lips parted to speak but before he could say anything a small 'thump' came from the side of the room he was in. He turned towards it and walked towards the window. The others followed as another thump was heard.
Ray watched, half amused, half confused at the pressed up forehead at his window. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was curled downwards in a soft pout.
"Alright, I agree. She's cute." Ray turned sideways to find Laura standing next to him. "You meant it look-wise but I'm leaning more towards personality. There's gotta be something fun about someone who literally smacks their heads."
"She has no idea we can see her does she?" Wanda asked from behind them.
"Nope," Ray answered and watched as her head lifted from the glass, almond shaped eyes slowly opening.
"Oh shit, I have seen her!"
"How did you figure it out?" Laura asked as Roberto put his hands to his eyes as if they were binoculars and pressed them to the glass window.
"Cause I have definitely seen the cutie she's with. They go to the gym, I'm surprised they don't seem familiar to you."
"I don't pay attention to a lot of things. Plus I mainly teach my class so if they don't go to it I wouldn't know them."
"Hmm" Roberto mumbled while still watching the dark skin girl through the window.
"Man, stop. That's total jailbait," Ray mumbled grabbing Roberto by the back of the shirt and pulling.
Roberto whined and looked at Wanda, "Is it jailbait?"
Wanda rolled her eyes but looked at Jubilations date of birth, "Eighteen," she responded, making him yell out "yes!"
"That means her friend is too."
"That doesn't mean that at all," Laura mumbled as Roberto turned to Wanda, "I say hire her boss!"
"I already told you guys no decisions will be made till after the weekend, let's see how many more people apply."
"They're leaving," Laura announced making them all turn to watch the retreating girls.
"Well...that was exciting for the moment," Roberto mumbled and moved away to head back to his station.
Laura nodded and went to her own station. Wanda took a glance at Ray who was still watching the window but after a few seconds looked down at the application and headed back to the front counter.
The bell indicating someone came in rang but he didn't pay it any mind. His eyes were stuck on the outline of the forehead that had been pressed against it just a minute ago. He didn't know why he felt a pull towards it but before he could question himself he felt a squeeze on his arm breaking him from the trance.
He turned and met with a curious hazel gaze, "Hey, your first customer is here."
"Hmm...oh...right. Let's get this day started," he answered and passed by her giving her shoulder a small squeeze.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Three Days Later O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"That is so cute!" Amara gushed as they watched the cgi dogs share spaghetti noodles.
Jubilee nodded, but it was an action missed since her head and torsos were hanging off Amara's bed making it impossible to see. A few minutes into the movie Jubilee announced that this was her favorite part and got ready to sing along with the song but before she had a chance she was interrupted by the buzzing of a phone.
She paused the movie and waited for Amara to answer it. No one but her parents ever called her and they had a specific time for that. 9 pm sharp, New York time making it 6pm in California.
"Uh, Jubes. It isn't mine."
"Hmm? It shouldn't be my parents yet. It's only 7."
"Well someone's calling you cause it's not me." Amara answered and wiggled her phone showcasing the black screen.
Jubilee quickly sat up earning her a head rush and answered the phone sounding as if she had just woken up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, may I speak with Jubilation Lee?"
"Speaking."
"Oh... hi, it's Wanda Maximoff..." there was silence which caused the girl on the other side of the line to add, "from the tattoo parlor, Scarlet Ink."
"Oh! Oh!" Jubilee jumped up from the bed tripping over Amara's leg and falling to the floor making the phone slip out of her hand. A few seconds and a loud "ow" later the phone was pressed back to her ear, "Hello?"
"Yeah, I'm still here. I was just calling to see if you were still interested in the temporary position?"
"YES!"
"Oh, well great! Can you come in Tuesday morning?"
"YES!"
"Great. 9 am, I'll see you here."
"Yes! Thank you so much see you Tuesday!"
When the other line went dead she made a squealing sound and fell onto Amara's bed, phone clutched to her chest, "I got a job!"
"Oh yay! Was it the boutique" Amara asked leaning towards her.
"Uh... no."
"Oh so the mall? That's great, it'll be like your dream job!"
"It wasn't the mall."
"Then where else woul..no way...the tattoo place?"
"Yeah."
"You're sure that's a good idea?"
"Why not? It's the only place that has called so far and if anything it's your fault I even applied."
Amara gave a guilty smile, "Oh yeah...you didn't seem all that excited after you'd applied. I didn't think you'd go for it if they called."
"Well it's not like my parents are giving me much of a choice. They said if I wanted to stay here for the summer that I at least had to get a job so I wouldn't be a burden to your parents and to prepare myself for college life..." her hands went into the air and her fingers bent into quotation marks. "anyway you said it yourself, I'll be around something artistic. Who knows maybe I'll learn something new. Either way it's a tattoo shop, it should be interesting right? What do I have to lose?"
"Guess that's true. When do you start?"
"Tuesday."
"Well that's nice you have a day to rest."
"Rest? What rest? We're going shopping tomorrow. What goes well in a tattoo shop? Leather?"
"We were just at the mall a few days ago," Amara whined.
"But I need a new job outfit!" Jubilee remarked. Amara shook her head and restarted the movie, ignoring the small mumbles from her Asian friend. Seemed her friend's life was about to get a little more interesting, and unfortunately she had a feeling she would be dragging her along for the ride.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O TBC O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
And that's chapter one. Hope it piqued your guys interest! No tattoos yet but, believe me, a lot of characters will have some, well the main ones anyway. I didn't think too much about background characters so if you wanna offer any tattoo ideas for them I'm open to it :)
Jubilay- Let the smexy eye locks begin!
Amarto- Hinted attraction ;) At least they've seen each other around you guys!
Romy- MIA
Xietro- MIA
Jonda- MIA
Thank you so much for reading and I'd love it if you left me a review and told me what you think! Till next time. -UHW