"Have you seen Steph?" Jubilee asked Mark in the cafeteria. Mark just scowled and Jubilee nodded. "Ah, she's with Hank... again, do you know where?" she giggled.
"Porch," Mark grunted. Jubilee nodded and turned around to leave.
"It'll never last you know, they've been engaged for three weeks and still can't even make a date for the wedding," he called out. Jubilee turned back and smiled at him. "Besides, he's too old, Steph is never going to marry him." Jubilee laughed and patted him on his shoulder.
"You keep telling yourself that," she said. "But they've like, just decided. The wedding's gonna be August 18th, gives them a month or two to make plans." Mark growled and Jubilee waved at him as she left, quickly locating Hank and Steph on a swinging loveseat on a back porch. As Jubilee came out the door Steph motioned for her to be quiet, Hank was asleep with his head on her lap.
"He really is a sweetie isn't he?" she said as Jubilee sat in a wicker rocking chair across from the two. Jubilee grinned as Steph stoked Hank's face gently.
"He's perfect for ya, chika," Jubilee said, sitting cross-legged. Steph nodded.
"My teddy bear, for ever and ever," she said, grinning. "My big blue teddy bear." Jubilee laughed.
"Funny thing is- it's usually you in his lap, I think this is like, the first time I've seen you holding him," she said. Steph smiled.
"Nah- I hold him, jus' usually when he's tired, which was never as much before," she said. "But now he's always doin' a lot of his work in the lab at night, so we can spend the day t'gether, an' make the plans and stuff. I told him t' get more sleep but he refuses to miss anything, and you know how he gets with sciencey stuff; can't leave it alone." Jubilee nodded.
"I think last week he took a whole bunch of like, Hostess foods and examined them under a microscope, he's convinced that by doin' something to them he can turn them all into Twinkies," she laughed. Steph nodded.
"He's still workin' on that, won't listen to me when I jus' tell him to take a cooking class t' figure it out," Steph shook her head, amused. "But I'm gonna have t' take science classes t' understand what those things are made out of."
"Yeah," Jubilee chuckled. Then she looked out over the lawn, towards the woods where the sun was setting. Already the vibrant oranges and reds were fading into a deep purple and blue, and tiny white stars glistened in the sky above them. Steph was also gazing at the sunset.
"So, are Kurt and Kitty coming to the wedding?" Jubilee asked. "I mean, like Kitty would, she'd be your maid of honor right?" Steph shook her head.
"She said she wasn't ready yet, Kurt's coming though," Steph said, then she looked directly over at Jubilee. "I'd love it if you'd be my honorable maid though," she said. Jubilee gasped.
"Really?" She said. "Oh chika- it would be so cool!"
"Shh," Steph said, nodding at her fiancée. Jubilee nodded, still beaming, then she paused.
"Wait- you won't make me wear anything... ugly would you?" she said.
"Um..." Steph said, then seeing Jubilee's expression she smiled. "'Course not, I want everyone lookin' beautiful, maybe not as beautiful as me but...."
"Wouldn't matter t' him," Jubilee said, nodding at Hank. "You could go dressed as Eminem and he wouldn't care."
"But he'd better be wearing a tux," Steph said, chuckling.
"Course," Jubilee said.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me, you'll need to help me find a dress," Steph said. "An' we only have a couple months, so we'd better start soon."
"I get to help pick out your dress?!" Jubilee gasped, her eyes lighting up.
"Accourse, an' help pick out the decorations and music and everythin', it's actually your job as the big MoH," Steph said. Jubilee clapped her hands.
"I love you," she said. "I mean it girly, I love you."
"Only because ya know I'll let ya do my makeup," Steph said.
"Yay!" Jubilee squeaked. Hank murmured in her sleep and she immediately clasped a hand on her mouth, still giggling with excitement.
"What's that?" Hank asked sleepily.
"Nothing," Steph soothed, stroking his cheek as he sighed happily, a grin filling his face.
"It sounds like the excitable tones of-"
"Jubes," Steph said, "Jus' found out she's gonna be my maid of honor. Go back to sleep love, ya need it."
"Ah, the joys of being the head Maid are filling her head?" Hank asked, starting to slip back into his slumber.
"Yup, n' later ya can share your own experience with her," Steph smiled.
"Yes..." Hank muttered. "I should...." and he was asleep again. Steph bent down and kissed him on the forehead and then looked up to see a bright red Jubilee almost passed out from trying not to laugh.
"He losses focus when he's almost asleep," Steph said unnecessarily, "Ya should hear the things I can make him say."
"Believe it," was all Jubilee could choke out. After she had collected herself she wrapped her coat a bit tighter around her shoulders. "Bet your all warm with a big ol fur rug on your lap," she said.
"Yup, go get your own," Steph replied, reaching over and buttoning up Hank's lab coat just in case he got cold.
"So. Any plans for after the wedding?" Jubilee asked.
"Funny you should say that," Steph said. "We were just talking about that before Hank needed his nap."
"And? What plans were you talking about?" Jubilee asked.
"Well, for our honeymoon Hank wants us to go to Paris for a bit, then fly over and visit Kurt and Kitty in Germany," Steph said. "And we know we're gonna live here but we may buy a little place to get away to near by."
"What about kids?" Jubilee asked, her eyes sparkling. Steph smiled.
"With a guy like Hank?" she asked. "Of course."
"Boy or girl?" Jubilee said. "When?"
"Doesn't matter, on the soonish but not too soon side," Steph said. "Then you'll be an aunt."
"Auntie Jubes," Jubilee said, sighing and leaning back in her chair. "The funnest, best aunt your fuzzy kid'll ever have."
"Or Aunt Jubilation, the weird psychopath my kid tries to avoid at all costs," Steph joked.
"I'm hurt," Jubilee said, giggling.
"So what about you? Any special guy in your life right now?" Steph asked.
"Mark," Jubilee said happily. Steph looked so horrified that Jubilee started to laugh again. "No, I'm kidding girl, I haven't found the right guy yet."
"You will," Steph said, nodding and trying to breathe again. "And don't you ever scare me like that again!"
"Aw, he's not that bad," Jubilee said. "Just really mopey that you were stolen away before he even got here."
"I was not stolen away!" Steph said, laughing.
"Yes you were, you've loved that guy you're holding since a few months after you first arrived here, and he's loved you for just as long," Jubilee replied.
"You're so annoying," Steph said, sticking her tongue out at Jubilee, who stuck hers out back.
"And you're a brat," she replied. "A soon-to-be-married-brat."
"Hark, what is that I hear?" Steph asked, pretending to listen to some distant sound. "The call of the kitchen? It's your turn to make dinner girly, toddle off."
"Huh, yeah right, we're having my usual," Jubilee said, getting up.
"Make sure it's Tony's this time, Happy Pan makes me sick to my stomach," Steph said as Jubilee got up. "And I want half a cheese pizza and half meat lovers, and Hank will want his usual, olives and pepperoni, and don't forget the green peppers this time!"
"Yeah, yeah," Jubilee said, pausing outside the door. "Where's the phone?"
"I think Scott will know where it is," Steph said, shrugging
"See ya in an hour girl," Jubilee said.
"Yeah," Steph said, and Jubilee disappeared back into the house. A moment later Hank sighed and opened his eyes, sitting up and stretching, smiling at Steph.
"Hey, I thought you were asleep," Steph said. Hank nodded.
"I did drift of after Jubilation woke me, but at the mention of being 'stolen away' I found my consciousness restored. And then you mentioned the delectable treat we are to have tonight."
"If nothing else pizza'd wake you up," Steph smiled. Hank nodded and put his arm around her.
"I thank you for ordering correctly, I would have been forced to get up and told Jubilee myself had thou not read my mind," he said. Steph put her head on his chest and snuggled in, unbuttoning his jacket and wrapping it around herself as well.
"Well now it's my turn to snuggle in," she said, and Hank chuckled as she raised her head and kissed him, then burrowed in against his chest with his arms wrapped around her.
"Aww," said a child's teasing voice. "How cute! Teffie n' Blue, sittin' inna tree, k-i-s-s-"
"Thank you Ruhko," Steph sighed. "You can go now."
"I-N-G!!" she and Bucky shouted, jumping off the balcony above them and cheering. Hank chuckled and Steph sighed.
"Ruhko, Bucky, may I have a word?" Steph asked, motioning them over. Eagerly the pre-teens hurried over.
"What's up?" Bucky asked, turning her baseball cap backwards and sticking her hands half into her pockets.
"What are you doing?" Steph asked, arching an eyebrow.
"She's being cool," Ruhko explained, pulling out a pair of sunglasses. "Bobby showed us cool people on MTB."
"Are you referring to MTV?" Hank asked.
"Yeah," Bucky said. "That one too."
"Well," Steph said, reaching over and pulling Bucky's hat down over her eyes. "You two are very cool, but wouldn't you rather be my little sisters?"
"No," both said at once.
"It's not cool," Ruhko said.
"Because you and Hank are old," Bucky said, sticking out her tongue.
"Even if you can only be the flower girls if you're un-cool with me?" Steph asked.
"Flower girls?" Ruhko asked.
"When ya marry Blue?" Bucky said.
"No, when I marry Mark," Steph said.
"I thought you didn't like him," Bucky said. Ruhko swatted her arm.
"She was being sarcastic," she said.
"We can really be your flower girls?" Bucky said excitedly.
"Only if you leave me and Hank alone to plan our wedding," Steph said.
"But ya ain't plannin' now," Ruhko said defiantly.
"Yer jus' cuddling, like old people do," Bucky said.
"Well I can drive," Steph said smugly.
"Humph," both girls replied sourly.
"Speaking of driving," Hank said. "Did thy young spirited girls know that Jubilee is leaving to retrieve us some pizza for dinner?"
"Pizza!" Bucky and Ruhko yelled, and immediately both ran off. Steph and Hank laughed as the door slammed shut.
"That worked," Steph said, snuggling again.
"Always does," Hank sighed. "I do regret the verbal and possible physical beating I will be subjected to once Jubilation returns however." Steph kissed him.
"Don't worry," she said as she laid her head down and started to drift off to sleep. "I'll protect ya."