Chapter 9: Tattoo

Logan reached lazily across the bed to feel for the warmth of the woman beside him. When he didn't feel anything, he opened one eye. Her side of the bed was empty. He opened both, reached inside himself for the bond he'd discovered was there.

The feeling had mystified him, until he'd asked Jean about it. She had slipped into his mind, taken a look at what lay hidden there, and smiled. Then she'd explained it to him. Jubilee had spent enough time in his mind to have established a thin silver thread of psychic linkage with him. After Hank had finally deemed her healed enough to leave the medlab, she had gotten him to sleep and then spent the entire night psychically linked to him. She was exhausted, spent, and suffering from a headache that left her near-blind with the pain in the morning, but it had had the gratifying effect of linking her psychically with him. Now, wherever she was in the mansion, he could feel her presence in his mind. It 'looked' to him like a silver thread tied to his mind, with the other end stretching off, pulsing gently, to wherever she happened to be. Which, at this moment, was down in the medlab, presumably with Hank.

He got up, pulled on jeans and a T-shirt, and left their bedroom. Down the hall, downstairs, through the kitchen, to the basement. Then through the hidden door to the hidden sublevels beneath the mansion, where the medlabs, Danger Room, and other equipment lay.

As he pushed open the door to the medlab, he was startled to hear the sound of Jubilee's laughter. Jubilee, laughing? At this hour of the morning? She usually couldn't even manage a good morning kiss this early! As he turned around the corner from the main medical facilities to the lab proper, he saw Jubilee and Hank coming out of the lab. "Morning, darlin'," he said.

Jubilee squealed and ran up to him. "I finally got the hang of this molecular-level cellular regeneration thing!" she hugged him so tight his neck creaked.

"Whoa," Logan said, smiling at her nonetheless. "Words of one syllable only before breakfast please, Jubes."

She grinned and explained. "Hank has been trying to each me how to regenerate and heal wounds, so I can heal almost as fast as you," she said happily. "I finally got it—look--" She pulled up the hem of her pajama pant and showed him the place where Sabretooth had clawed her barely two months ago. One of the scars were gone; the other was considerably smaller than it had been the previous night, when Logan had caressed those legs as they wrapped tight around his middle…

With an effort he pulled his thoughts away from their activities the night before and kissed her. "Don' fergit, we're supposed ta go pick out yer ring today," he said.

Jubilee grinned at him. "I still don't know why you need me to go with you," she said. "Normally the girl gets surprised with the ring. It's not often that the girl gets to pick out the engagement ring."

Logan shrugged. "We're hardly a normal couple, Jubes," he pointed out.

* * *

So there they were, looking through the cases for something Jubilee liked, and waiting for the customer currently at the counters to leave so they could enlist the help of one of the salesgirls. Jubilee stopped at one case and looked inside. "That one," she suddenly breathed, looking inside. "Oh, Logan, that one!"

He looked into the case, followed the direction of her pointing finger. It was a lovely gold ring, with an oval sapphire in the middle and three tiny diamonds lining the band to either side. "Jubes," he said, "Aren't engagement rings supposed to be diamonds?"

"That used to be the case," said the salesgirl, coming over to them after saying goodbye to the customer she had just sold a necklace to. "The tradition is a diamond, but lately the trend has been toward colored stones. Engagement rings are now usually bought in the woman's birthstone." She looked at Jubilee kindly. "What is your birthstone, dear?"

"Blue topaz," Jubilee said. "But I don't like it. I like sapphires better."

The woman smiled. "They do match your eyes." She produced a ring of keys and unlocked the case. "This was the one you were looking at?" she handed Jubilee the gold ring with the sapphire and diamonds on it.

"Yes," Jubilee sighed, slipping the ring on her finger and looking at the ring under the light. "Oh, wow."

Logan, looking at the ring, had to agree. It looked fantastic on Jubes's finger, even though it was way too big.

"I love it," Jubilee said, glowing with happiness. "How much is it?"

The woman looked at the tag. "It's been reduced," she said. "There's a flaw in one of the diamonds that lower the price. Are you sure you want it?"

"Yes," Jubilee said definitely. To Logan, she said, Any flaws in the stone I can fix once I get it.

Logan looked through the rest of the case idly as Jubilee and the saleswoman arranged to have the ring sent out to be sized. "Will that be all right, Logan?" Jubilee said suddenly, breaking into his thoughts.

"Huh?" he said in astonishment.

"The lady said the ring will be back in a week., and you can come pick it up then. Will that be all right?"

"Sure," Logan said.

Once they were done at the jewelers, they went through the stores, buying Christmas presents. Logan chose carefully, unwilling to overspend and wipe out the account Jubilee had given him. Though Xavier put plenty of money aside to take care of anything the mansion's residents wanted or needed, Logan had always looked at the spending the girls did as frivolous, and had tried his best to provide his own money for whatever he wanted to do.

Jubilee noticed. "Oh for goodness sake, Logan," she said in exasperation when he put back a silver sweater he had considered buying Ororo but decided against because it was silk, and therefore expensive, "There is enough money in that account for whatever you want to purchase! Have you taken a look at the bankbook for that account? I do keep it balanced for you."

"I don't wanna overspend, Jubes," he said.

She giggled and pulled him into the elevator to go down. "Here." She handed him a black leather wallet. "For you."

He took it, feeling the fine grain of the leather, and then opened it. For a moment he thought she'd just filled it with sham credit cards, then gasped as he pulled one out and saw his name on it. So was the next one. "Jubes," he said when he could get his breath back, "What's this?"

She grinned and kissed him. "You have access to all of my accounts," she said cheerfully, hugging him. "As soon as you proposed, I went and had your name added onto my main bank account, all my cards, and two of my smaller accounts. Everything I have is yours now."

"Jubilee…" he breathed. At a loss for words, he took her in his arms and kissed her again.

"Do me a favor?" Jubilee said into his ear.

"What?" he said.

"If you buy anything just remember to keep the receipts so I can balance the account books, okay?"

"Yeah, Jubes."

They loaded the back of his pickup with dozens of packages and bags, then got in and started to drive home. Halfway there Jubilee said suddenly, "Turn left here, Logan." Mystified, he followed her instructions until she told him to pull into a small shopping plaza. She turned to him and said, "I should be out in about an hour or so. Can you pick me up then?"

"Okay," he said. He watched as she vanished around the corner.

* * *

The tiny brass bell tinkled as Jubilee walked into the brightly-lit shop. A young, skinny guy behind the counter looked at her over the glasses he wore and said, "Yes, can I help you?"

"Yes," Jubilee said. "I was told you guys do custom tattoos here, by a friend of mine. Max Montgomery?"

"Ah! Yes, Moose! He's one of our favorite customers!" the guy 's face lightened up. "I'm Reggie Mane. This is my tattoo shop." His wide apart arms indicated the entire shop. "I can do any kind of tattoo you'd like." He smiled at her. "Are you the girl he calls his little Lady?"

"Yeah," Jubilee blushed. "My name is Jubilation Lee. He just tagged me with the name little Lady one night at Rex's and it stuck."

"Okay," Reggie said. "Then whatever you want, it's already paid for." At her disbelieving look, he said, "Moose was in here getting a new tattoo, and he mentioned that he had a lady friend who was interested in getting a tattoo. Told me she was a short, pretty Asian girl. When you came in, I thought it might be you, that's why I asked. Anyway, he overpaid me for the work I did for him, and when I brought it up, he said to apply the balance to whatever you want done."

Jubilee blinked. "Wow, that's awfully generous of him! I'll have to run by and thank him. Look, I'm getting engaged, and I was wondering if you could tattoo my fiancée's name somewhere on me, like maybe my hip or somewhere."

Reggie took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Are you sure you want it on your hip? The closer to the bone it is the more it's going to hurt."

Jubilee raised an eyebrow. "So where would you suggest?"

Reggie put his glasses back on. "Usually the girls who come in want tattoos on the shoulder, or the tummy, or the ankle," he said. "Are you going to care that it shows, or not?"

"I don't mind," Jubilee thought about it, "Although, you're right, I don't think I want something like totally huge or anything." She thought about it some more. "Maybe a little one, on my shoulder. It's only five letters, anyway; his name's Logan."

"Did you have a design in mind, or would you like to select something from my book?" Reggie pulled out a portfolio full of designs from under the counter and pushed it across the table top toward her. "Let me get my stuff together, and when you decide, call me."

Jubilee flipped through the book. A great many of them were large, showy things like she'd seen on Moose's arms, but one caught her eye. A pretty red rose, underlining a name. "Hey Reggie," she said, looking closely at it. "I like this one."

He came over, looked at the design. "Yes, that one's pretty," he said. "Nice and simple." He grinned. "I thought of that one as soon as I saw you," he said. "I had a feeling you'd pick that. Have you decided where you want it?"

Jubilee nodded. "On my hip," she said. "I know you said it's going to hurt more, but that's what I want."

Reggie shrugged. "You got it," he said.

Jubilee gritted her teeth and endured it. It wasn't as bad as she expected it was going to be; it certainly wasn't the worst pain she'd ever felt. When she finally got up and checked out Reggie's handiwork in the mirror, she decided that the pain was worth it. Five letters, spelling out Logan's name in Old English calligraphic script, was underlined by a long-stemmed bright red rose. 'I love it, Reggie," she giggled delightedly, "Thanks! Now how much of this do I owe you?"

"Nothing," Reggie said. "It was a delight working on a pretty girl like you."

Jubilee rolled her eyes. "Okay, try another one," she said. "How much did Moose pay you over, anyway?"

"Enough to cover that," Reggie said.

Jubilee gave him a narrow-eyed look. "Well that's what he told me to say!"

She leaned over the counter and pinned him with her sapphire eyes. It was an unusual color for someone with her racial background, and it tended to catch—and keep—people off guard. "What kind of deal did you make with him?" she asked him evenly.

Reggie grunted. "All right, you want the whole story?" When Jubilee nodded, he sighed. "Moose came in here and told me he had a friend who was thinking about getting a tattoo. Told me what you looked like, told me who you were, and then he gave me a hundred and told me to tell you it was paid for, whatever it was you wanted done. We agreed that if what you wanted cost more than that, he would pay me the balance later."

Jubilee looked at her hip in disbelief. "How much was this?"

You're a referral, you're a girl, and you're Moose's friend. Twenty bucks is what I'd have charged you for the letters and the rose. So Moose has a great deal of money coming back to him."

Jubilee grinned. "I'll make sure he gets it back."

"Oh no," Reggie made a face. "Don't you dare tell Moose I told you what we worked out; he'll have my hide! That and the fact that he still has my bike; he might take longer to get it finished if he finds out I told you! I do not want Moose Montgomery mad at me, thank you very much!"

Jubilee laughed. "Okay," she said. "Thank you, Reggie. I promise I won't tell Moose what you told me."

Logan was waiting for her when she left the shop. He gave her a curious look when she climbed into the cab of the truck. "What was that for?"

She grinned. "I'll show you when we get home," she said.

They took the packages straight to their room and hid them under the bed, then Jubilee led him into the bathroom and shut and locked the door. Logan got into the shower first, as was his custom as Jubilee brushed out her thick black hair, and then she joined him in the shower. He relaxed in her arms, letting the hot spray wash away the tension in his shoulders before he turned to her. "So what was this you was gettin' all mysterious over?"

She giggled and angled her hip up to him. "Look," she said.

Logan stared at the delicate rose on the pale, creamy flesh, and the bold black letters spelling out his name for the world to see. He felt heat rise to his cheeks and flush through his body, awakening the banked fire that always smoldered in his loins for her. Somehow, seeing his name printed indelibly on her skin for everyone to see was incredibly sexy. He went down on one knee to examine it better, then noticed the slight redness of the flesh around the tattoo. He couldn't help himself; he dipped his head and ran his tongue over that heated patch of skin. Jubilee moaned aloud; and that sound drove every thought but one straight out of his head.

He lay on the bed later, dazed from the intensity of their experience in the shower, as she explained about the tattoo parlor, Reggie, and how Moose had paid for it. "I really should go and thank him," she said lazily, tracing circles in his chest hair with her finger.

"Yeah, I think you should," he said. "Ya want me ta come?"

Jubilee giggled. "Can you even still move after the way we—well—earlier?" she teased him gently.

He snorted. "Tease," he ruffled her hair. "Well, I'm pretty comfortable here, so go right on ahead. Just remember, that movie ya wanted ta watch is on at ten, so ya better be back by then."

"Sure, Logan." Jubilee kissed him and bounced off the bed. "I'm taking my Celica, since my bike's over at his shop still." She pulled on a coat, and stopped to give him a last kiss before she headed out the door.

For just one moment, he was seized with the urge to call her back or run after her, anything to keep her here, but he suppressed the urge and sat back, staring at the TV. Still, that sense of impending doom hung over his head…

* * *

Jubilee pulled up in front of Moose's Motorcycle Mania. "Moose!" she called, her breath misting in the late December air. Christmas was only a week away, and it looked as though it would be a white one. They had already had two snowfalls, light ones, but a more substantial one was promised for the night. "Hey, Moose! It's me, Jubes!"

The door to the garage opened, and Moose stuck his head out. "Hey, little Lady!" he called out to her. "Come on in! It's too cold for ya to be out here!"

Jubilee slipped past him sideways through the door into the garage and stepped inside. "Whoo! It's cold out there," she said as she pulled off her coat in the welcome heat of the garage.

"You should be home," he scolded her, draping her coat over a nearby chair. "The weatherman said there's a nasty snowstorm shaping up out there. What are you doing out?" He poured a cup of hot coffee and stuck it in her hand. She didn't drink coffee this time of night, but she kept it anyway to warm her hands. The heater wasn't working in her car; she'd been meaning to have it looked at but had kept forgetting.

She sat down in the battered chair Moose offered her and said, "I went to Reggie's today."

"I kinda thought you would," Reggie said with satisfaction. "What did you have done?"

For answer Jubilee stood and eased down the elastic waistband of her skirt, showing him the tattoo on her hip. "Reggie said it would hurt more if I got it on the hip, but it didn't really hurt that much," she said. "And it looked marvelous. I can see why you go to him." She gave him a sidelong glance as she said innocently. "And his prices must be quite reasonable too. He didn't charge me anything."

"Merry Christmas, Lady," Moose said. Jubilee put down her cup and rushed into his arms. "Thank you, Moose," she said into the thick wool of his sweater. "It was a wonderful gift."

He hugged her back. "You're welcome, Jubilee," he said.

And the back wall of the loft exploded inward.

Jubilee shrieked as Moose was grabbed by a pair of hands as big as his own and turned around to see Sabretooth snarling in the opening. "Sabretooth!" she screamed in anger. "Put him down!" Sabretooth had a mutant's strength; there was no way Moose, even as formidable a fighter as he was, would be able to take him on. She brought her hands up, but Sabretooth had Moose in front of him, shielding himself with Moose's body, and she couldn't use her powers with him in the way. Moose was growling, fighting for all he was worth, but Sabretooth's hold was too strong.

"Sabretooth!" Jubilee pleaded. "Sabretooth, let him go, come on, don't hurt him, please, he hasn't done anything to you! It's Logan and me you want, leave him alone!"

"Yeah," Sabretooth snarled. "Got that right, frail, it's you an' da runt I want. Mostly you. So come with me, an' no one gets hurt."

"I am not going anywhere with you!" Jubilee screamed at him. "You gotta be nuts!"

Sabretooth nodded. "I thought that'd be yer answer," he said. He grabbed Moose's arm and gave it a quick, savage twist.

Moose howled in agony as his forearm bones snapped like matchsticks. He screamed and screamed in pain as Jubilee stared horrified at the shattered, twisted ends of bone protruding from Moose's arm. "Stop it! Stop it!" she screamed hysterically as Sabretooth grabbed Moose's other arm and broke that too. "I'll do anything, Creed, please, stop it!" Tears streamed unheeded down her face.

Sabretooth pulled something out of his pocket and threw it at her. She caught it in midair before she realized what it was. It was one of those inhibiting collars, like the one he'd restrained her with a few months earlier. "Anything?" Sabretooth snarled. "Prove it. Put that 'round yer neck an' lock it on."

Jubilee stared at the thing in horror, then back at Sabretooth. He looked back at her. "Do it, or your friend suffers," he said. Jubilee looked at Moose, who was cradling both broken arms and crying in pain.

"Don't…do it…little Lady," he said, his face contorted in pain. "He's just…gonna hurt…ya…" And then he screamed as Sabretooth smashed a foot into the side of his knee and broke the kneecap. Jubilee screamed in anguish and fumbled with the collar as Moose howled in agony.

"I'm putting it on, I'm putting it on!" She put the hateful thing around her neck and snapped it shut, activating the electronic lock. Only someone who had the deactivation code could open it now. She held up her hands. "I did it, okay? I did it. Let him go, Sabretooth! Please let him go!"

Sabretooth tossed Moose aside like a rag doll and advanced on her. Before Jubilee could react, he was on top of her.