Five: Dinner

The long table was set, serving dishes holding turkey mignons, a steamed vegetable medley, long grain and wild rice, cinnamon fruit salad and dinner rolls dotted the table.  The dinner was a quiet one; Jean, Storm and Jubilee all staring off into space, while Scott, Remy Logan, and Bobby shoveled the food in as though it was their last meal, Remy just slightly snockered from the boilermaker Logan had given him earlier.

"Rogue passed out.  She so cute when she sleepin' an' not eatin' everyt'ing in sight."

Logan grunted and helped himself to thirds of everything.

Bobby, sitting between Jean and Jubilee, kept taking tiny glances left and right between bites, certain one or the other was going to pounce on him and tear him to pieces.

Jubilee sighed, planted her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand and pushed her rice around her plate.

"Ick."  Jean stared first at her plate, then her water glass.  "One sip of water and the salt in this turkey will make me swell up to hideous proportions and explode."

"I know how you feel."  Storm replied, putting her hand on Wolverine's thigh under the table.  She licked her lips and glanced at him, waiting for him to notice.

He knocked over his beer can.

Luckily, it was empty.

He chewed, swallowed, and glanced at the woman, who smiled suggestively and squeezed his thigh.  No else seemed to notice she was...purring.  "Rented..." Logan stopped, his voice way too high, and cleared his throat. "Rented some movies for you, Jubilee.  Got 'Shanghai Noon'."  His voice wasn't as steady as it usually was.

The girl sighed and nodded, now tearing a roll into tiny pieces and letting them fall where they would.  It looked like a three-year-old had been eating at her place, food everywhere in a three-inch radius around the plate, but she hadn't actually eaten any of the food on her plate.

Ororo took a sip of her milk, running her hand familiarly up and down Logan's firmly muscled thigh.  He sat up a little straighter as her hand moved higher.  "Wolverine, would you be a darling and carry the pot I planted yesterday up to my room after dinner?"

"Uhh..."

"It's not too heavy, just more than I can carry by myself."

"Have Remy do it."

"He'd hurt his back."

"Scott."

"He's got Jean."

"Bobby."

"Too young."

"Uhh..." Her hand squeezed his inner thigh and damned if he didn't like it a little too much.  "It'll have to be tomorrow, 'Ro." Her fingers dug in painfully.  Why did she have to have those long nails?  "I'm beat tonight."

Scowling, she snatched her hand away and shoved her chair back.  "I'm going to bed."

Jean also got up, but she went straight to the pantry and began searching.

"Whatcha lookin' for, honey?"  Scott asked, sitting back in his chair.

"Wine."  She opened the fridge.  "I want a bath."  The fridge slammed shut and she opened a cupboard.  "I can't have a bath without wine."

The cupboard slammed shut.  Jubilee glared at her.

 

"Where's the wine?"  Going to Remy, she grabbed a handful of his thick auburn hair and yanked his head back.  "You been drinking my Arbor Mist again, jerk-off?"

His head rolled limply along the chair back in denial.  "Remy had beer.  With whiskey."  He reached up, trying to pry her fingers out of his hair.  "Maybe Rogue drank it."  Mentioning the love of his life reminded him of her. "She so cute when she sleepin'.  She get dat little spot of drool at de corner of her mouth, her hair all tousled..."

Jean shoved his head disgustedly, releasing his hair.  "You're drunk.  If you puke, you clean it up, and if you pass out, I'll leave you in a puddle of your own vomit."  Her gaze found Logan, who stared right back, if a little warily.

He looked like he'd been in a fight, his clothes disheveled, hair messed up and eyes tired.  "Don't look at me, Jeannie, wine's a girlie drink.  Besides, I got beer."  And whiskey.  Wonderful, wonderful, mind-numbing whiskey.

Lips in a tight line, she left, muttering dire threats on the person who'd drunk her wine.

Scott didn't mention that she'd finished the last of it herself two days earlier.

Jubilee got up, ignored the cringing Bobby, and went to Wolverine, wrapping her arms around his neck tight enough to choke him.  "I wanna watch a movie now."

He pried her arm away from his neck.  "You gonna eat yer dinner?"

"I don't want it.  I'm not hungry.  Can we have popcorn?"He didn't bother to point out the contradiction in those sentences.  "Sure, Darlin'."

"Oh, I knew you loved me!"  She screeched happily in his ear before grabbing a hold of a very happy, tipsy Gambit.  "C'mon Remy, you can be my pillow.  We'll get it cued up.  Wolvie, make popcorn."

With a relieved sigh, Bobby scraped his plate and put it into the dishwasher.  "I'm gonna go into town.  A buddy of mine's gonna get me into an `R' movie."

He expected Scott to protest, but the man merely nodded and waved."Be careful.  I suspect it's gonna start raining soon."

"But it's clear out."

Wolverine popped a bag of microwave popcorn.  "Trust us, kid.  It's gonna rain." He poured that bag into a large dish and popped another bag.

"How do you know?"

"I just do."  Turning aside, he rubbed the phantom sore spot on his thigh where Storm had punctured him with her nails.  Butter fragrance filled the kitchen and he dumped the second bag into the bowl also.  That should hold Jubilee for half the movie.  "Escape while you still can."  He checked the cupboard.  Oh good, there was an unopened super-sized box of microwave popcorn.

"Be back by curfew." Scott began clearing the table, scraping plates and putting away the leftovers.

Logan left the kitchen, carrying a six-pack of beer and the popcorn.

As Scott started the dishwasher, rain began pattering softly on the windows.

Six: Evening

The girl was barely awake, unwilling to release her hold around his neck, snuggling against him.  "C'mon Jubes, time fer bed."

"Not sleepy."  She yawned.

"I'm gonna set you down."

"Okay."

He set her on her bed, expected her to let go and stood, only to have her hanging from his neck like a bizarre human necklace.  She swung heavily against him and he stumbled back.  "Jubes."

"Hmmm?"

"Let go."

"Nice and warm.  You stay here.  Sleep here."

"Oh no you don't, Darlin', you're not conning me into sleepin' here tonight.  Jean'd freak in the morning if I did." Her hands were pried free--thank God her nails always broke off before getting too long--and he set her on her feet.  "Get your night things on and brush yer teeth."

Giving no thought to him standing there, Jubilee pulled her shirt over her head.

"Jubes!"  Logan turned his back to her.  "Go in the bathroom and do that."

She sighed heavily and fifteen minutes later, teeth brushed, pajamas on, having taken more Midol and assured yet again the she was pretty and he loved her, Jubilee fell asleep.

~~~~~

His buzz was gone, but that was okay.  He didn't really fancy having a hangover anyway.  Remy opened Rogue's door.

Her light was on and she was curled under the covers.  Quietly, he went to her and peeked under the blankets.  She'd put on her nightgown.  Remy pulled his hand into his shirtsleeve, kissed the cuff and touched her cheek with it.

"'Night, Cher.  Sleep well an' know Gambit loves you."

~~~~~

Either Jean had forgotten to drain the bathtub, or had never made it into the tub before falling asleep, for she was in bed snoring gently and the tub was filled with fragrant water.  Maybe it was just as well there wasn't any wine, Scott reflected.

~~~~~

The clock was chiming nine when Scott and Remy joined Logan in the rec room.  They both carried a six pack of beer.  Next to the couch was a small trashcan, already holding six empty cans, and Logan was popping open the first of his second six packs when the other men plopped down exhaustedly on the couch.

"Rogue asleep still."  Remy took a long swig of beer.

Logan grunted.

"Jean's asleep and I think Ororo is out on the roof again."  Scott snagged the satellite remote and flipped to Showtime, stopping on an action movie.

Wolverine sighed. "Jubilee?"

Scott shrugged.  "I don't know; I didn't look in on her."  He opened one of his beers.

Wolverine cast him a disgusted look. "You're the team leader and you can't even hear a teenage girl creeping up behind you?"  He reached over the back of the couch and captured the girl's hand, pulling her half over the couch back.

"Hearing like a bat..." Scott mumbled.

"Bruce Wayne in disguise in disguise?"  Gambit slammed that beer and opened another.

"I thought I put you to bed, Darlin'" He ignored Scott and Remy.

"I couldn't sleep.  Can't I stay down here with you?  It's only nine."

Shrugging, he released her. "Fine.  No talking.  You settle down and be quiet and if I see one bit of attitude from you, you're grounded for a week."

"Okay."  Jubilee sat on the back of the couch and slid backwards down the cushion until her back was on the seat, her head hanging off the couch so that she was watching the t.v. upside down.

Scott shook his head and sighed.

Remy propped his feet on the coffee table.

For a long while, the only sounds, aside from the t.v., were the slurping of beers and Logan and Remy's smoking.

~~~~~

Bobby let himself into the kitchen and set the outer alarm.  He took a root beer from the fridge and grabbed a handful of something in a bowl on the counter that looked like a party mix.  Skittles and pretzels?  Nuts and M&Ms'?  Chewing thoughtfully, Bobby picked up the bowl and headed for the rec room.

It was after eleven and only Wolverine was still awake, a glass in one hand, cigar in the other.  As Bobby moved closer, he saw Jubilee sprawled on the couch, bear claw slippered feet propped on a throw pillow, one pajama leg scrunched up to her knee and a blanket corner covering her waist.  The rest of the blanket was on the floor.  One arm was across her chest; the other hanging off the couch and her head was on a pillow on Wolverine's lap.  Jubilee's mouth was open and Bobby thought of several practical jokes he could play on her right then, but since all of them would piss off the older man, he merely held up the bowl.

"What's this?  It tastes weird."

Apparently the weird taste didn't really bother Bobby, for Logan saw him take another handful of it.  "Some sort of snack mix Cyke found in Jeannie's "Taste of Home" magazine.  It's for Rogue's salty-sweet kick."

Bobby quit chewing and set the bowl quickly on the table, glancing around for the woman automatically.

"Don't worry, kid, she's still passed out."

"Oh good."  Bobby pointed at Jubilee. "What's with her?"

"Couldn't sleep."  Logan drank the last of his whiskey and set the glass aside.  "You set the outer alarm?"

"Yeah.  I'm gonna go on up."

"'Night, kid."

"Yeah." Bobby opened his root beer.  "Think tomorrow'll be better?"

"God, I hope so." Logan heard Bobby leave and took a last drag on his cigar.  "Well, Darlin', let's put you back to bed."

Her heart rate was slow, breathe even.  She was down for the count.  He eased Jubilee up, her head rolling limply, and tossed aside the pillow before dragging her onto his lap.

Jubilee slept the whole trip upstairs.  She didn't even wake up when he set her down.

With a sigh, he moved into his own room and shut the door.  Outside his window, the rain increased, but only outside his window.

He wrenched open the window and yelled, "'Night to you too, 'Ro!"  then shut the window, closed the curtains and turned out the light.

Thunder rumbled.