13284/She Made The Bed

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She Made The Bed
Date of Scene: 05 November 2022
Location: Jubilee and Noriko's Apt - College House
Synopsis: Jubilation takes a break from her usual responsibilities and stays home, surprising Noriko with a heartfelt gesture: a bed.
Cast of Characters: Jubilation Lee, Noriko Ashida




Jubilation Lee has posed:
    It's still early evening, but Jubilee has been alive for a few hours already. Unlike other nights lately, she stayed in. She didn't have any official business to tend to at "work" and the influx of illegal, new vampires has stalled for the last few nights. She hasn't made an appearance at Fangtasia in a while and hasn't wanted to seek out one of the pop-up vampire dance clubs that seem to appear almost nightly. They were once her safe space, where she wasn't the creepy vampire living among the mutants at Xavier's, where she wasn't the usurping fiend who took hold of Westchester, where she wasn't the pathetic, laughable "new blood" vampire who can't even Bat(!) properly. Unfortunately, all that stuff managed to find her, even in the anonymity afforded by loud music and a crowded dance floor. It has certainly been obvious to those closest to her. That light in her eyes has grown dull. That smile has faded. She's been snapping at Noriko more, calling her things like "a Renfield!" just for being supportive.

    It has all come to a head tonight. Jubilation has taken advantage of Noriko's newfound job at the school, tonight, to afford her some privacy to prepare a surprise for the speedster...

    And so, Jubilation waits for Noriko to return from her gopher work, seated on the couch in a criss-cross-apple-sauce position. She is surrounded by a small collection of gum wrappers and, unfortunately, lumpy pink wads of gum that have been spit out. She's chewing a piece, though her expression is one of confusion. She puckers her lips and expands her cheeks, struggling with something. Instead of a glorious pink bubble, a little wad of lumpy, chewed gum pokes out of the vampire's mouth. She frowns and looks down so she can scribble her findings on a little notebook. Jubes puts her Lisa Frank pencil down and slumps her shoulders.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
And Noriko has been an insufferable "Renfield" both in words and, worst of all, in nearly preemptive action.  Really she's just quick on reacting, but the damage and annoyance are all the same.

Noriko has been busy at the school with it being Feast Day as she calls it.  This is when she has to restock the pantry, and it requires her to use Rogue's old truck to head into town...multiple times (at least since she took over the job).  It also means she can't do it with her super speed.  It being a late day, Noriko hasn't taken her nightly city run, too anxious to return home to see if she can catch Jubes before she heads gets to her business.

Noriko restlessly thumbs at a flap of metal peeling away from the edge of her finger on her gauntlets as she strollZips along the corridor.  She uses both hands to turn the circular knob after some quick fidgets with the lock.  Stepping inside, she bumps the door closed with her hip and stops.  Then she looks at the clock, then she looks at Jubes.  "You're home!"  It's a rare burst of exuberance (these days at least; adulthood has invaded them both).

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee is dressed like she just doesn't give a damn. She's wearing a slightly wrinkled crew-neck sweatshirt, grey, with Pratt INSTITUTE printed across the breast in large, hot pink letters. It has a few dried paint spots on it, suggesting that it's worn when painting. Jubilee doesn't paint and certainly didn't go the Pratt Institute. It's not even close to being her size, and isn't flattering on her. It covers her form like a homemade dress stitched together using a potato sack in the Great Depression. Her legs are uncovered and one foot is bare. The other has a cheap flip-flop pulled from a bargain bin. Her hair is messy and worn up, pulled into a loose nest of tangles and knots. This is the Jubilation Lee who sits in mourning, surrounded by a graveyard of gum wrappers and failed attempts at blown bubbles.

    > Puckered lips. Puffy cheeks. Blow like hell. <

    This is the line Jubilee crosses off her notebook. From the look of it, it's her fifteenth failed attempt.

    When the door opens, Jubilation looks up with mock surprise, with a little glob of gum dangling from her bottom lip. It's a kindness she does for Noriko, whether the speedster realizes it or not. Her predator senses heard and smelled Noriko while she was out in the hallway, before she ever reached the door, but Jubilee plays the part of a normal-speed person getting surprised by a speedster.

    "So are you!" she announces, grinning a little. The blob of gum on her lip falls. Jubes stands suddenly and moves so she's in between Noriko and the closed door to their bedroom, blocking it as best she can. She approaches in a straight line and throws her arms around Noriko, hugging her tightly. "How was work?" she asks in a whisper, not yet letting go.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko expects to see Jubes vegging out in all her glory if she's going to veg out, but the extent of lack of care followed by the pile of gum wrappers catch Nori's attention.  Typically Jubes likes to put her own flourish on her ensemble, but this is a little too rough around the edges.  Is this...depression?

Noriko isn't wearing anything out of the ordinary.  She has on some cargo pants, a raglan shirt, long sleeve, and some suspenders for some odd reason.  She immediately peels them off to hang on their own, a smile forming for her favorite hunter.  Each of them have their little 'normalcy' dances they put on for each other, and either Noriko is a wonderful actress, or she falls for Jubes' every time.

"Long, boring.  Feast day."  Noriko savors the touch, leaning into the hug and letting her face bury into that cascade of raveny hair, the familiar scent of bubblegum giving her a wave of nostalgia for simpler days.  "I missed you.  The school is so boring without you.  Are you...why are you here?"  She asks gently, though lingering in that embrace.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee leans back, though doesn't let Noriko go. "Feast Day?" she repeats, squinting a little as she tries to work through her memories. Another casualty of her continued descent from her own humanity. Jubes blinks a couple times and then grins. "Oh, Thanksgiving!" she announces loudly. "Sweet potato pie and stuffing!" Jubilee holds that bright smile for a moment, but it soon transforms into a look of disgust, as though her childhood memory of the food was a happy one that just got replaced with disgust.

    Why are you here?

    "Oh, gee, thanks," Jubilee replies, grinning a little, even rolling her eyes to tease the speedster. Her fingers naturally find that new material and slip underneath the elastic of the suspenders. "What's with..." She doesn't even bother, not finding the humor to finish the thought. Jubes raises both her eyebrows and instead offers a closed smile.

    "I just..." The question draws out some discomfort made obvious by one of her shoulders rising while the other falls -- an awkward, extended shrug. Her shoulder falls to match the other one. "I just, I dunno, I wanted to stay in." Her eyes lower a little -- perhaps an unconscious tell that she knows she's hiding something, or perhaps it's just to prevent any chance of glamouring the speedster into believing her. With Noriko, Jubes would rather be caught in her lie.

    Instead, Jubes just re-directs. "So, you're probably, like, super-super tired, right? You need a nap, don't you?" she pesters, her excitement reforming. It's a weird line of questioning, but it's what happens.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Yeah it's coming up."  One year, Noriko arrived with Thanksgiving.  Well technically she was picked up a week before, but she didn't go into full circulation till Thanksgiving, nor did she get her roommate until then.  "Yeah, all that gross mushy stuff," Noriko agrees without hesitation, whether she's scarfed down a tub of mashed potatoes to drown her sorrows before or not.

Noriko sheepishly presses her lips together, head already ducked a few millimeters when she shrugs and then grins.  "Just wondering...eh, gravity.  I have to move slow in town and dress," the season, but Noriko's words fade as she notices the discomfort and assumes Jubes probably knows what she's going to say...she has to act like a human when she's in town.  "My pants fall down," she explains simply as if trying to move on from how uncool and sexy the functionality of her suspenders are.

"I'm glad," Noriko returns softly while Jubes' eyes are turned downward.  Her look of fondness melts into curiosity.  "I mean I don't have to.  I slept over my last fifteen minute break."  Noriko takes 'fifteen minute' breaks in 2 seconds and serious naps while other people are taking a smoke break.  Noriko tilts her head.  "But you're here..."  She draws Jubilation closer from her relaxed pose.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation stares at Nori for what might feel like an eternity to a speedster. She might look mad about something, but really she's just thinking through a new problem and how she'll have to deal with it. Her nights are going to be just a touch more hostile once her critics catch sight of her quote-unquote 'pet' on the town wearing suspenders. Vampires are a vain, superficial bunch, after all. After she's satisfied with the snarky comeback she has prepared for the first vampire harpy to take a jab at her about Noriko's fashion sense, Jubilee smiles again.

    "Oh, come /on/..." she insists. "Just, yeah, take a little nap. You know you want to..." Her smile widens as she begins to slowly walk backwards, leading Nori towards the closed door of their shared coffinroom. "I'll just wait out here..." She tilts her head forward, brows hiked in amusement, before stepping to the side to allow Nori to pass. Jubilee reclaims her spot on the couch, lowering herself back down and hugs her knees against her chest. She looks up at Nori and gives her a double-nod. Go on.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko doesn't seem to be happy about them either.  As if they are restricting her, she slips them off her shoulders self-consciously as she reluctantly pulls away from Jubes.  "Okayyy."  Noriko knows Jubes is up to something and assumes she's just giving the vampire time to get it setup.  "I'm sooo sleepy," she says, accidentally yawning rapidly, betraying that it was unconscious, a true yawn.  Damn psychology.

Maybe she will take a two minute nap, the speedster things as she pushes her hair back from her face.  It's getting long.  She looks back as she leans back on the door, watching Jubes as she pushes through the threshold with a soft grin, finally complying.

Noriko blinks, still standing in the doorway.  What she sees is, well, not the chaotic swirl of things around a pristine coffin in the eye of the storm but, did someone reverse rob them?  Where's all the crap?  Where did Jubes put it?  Noriko's eyes dart around.  "Are we having visitors?"  But they don't /know/ anyone.  Jubes really did get Noriko this time, perhaps a little too good.   Noriko's head pops out from the room, a look of stubborn confusion across her brow, perhaps a touch of worry.  "Are you kicking me out of the coffin?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation looks down at her own lap, grinning widely at Noriko's willingness to play along so well. Her jaw stiffens a little, her shoulders curl, making her appear smaller, like she's a little girl with a crush she wants to keep secret. Sometimes, it's the little things that stoke the fires of love.

    The moment of bliss -- a rare commodity to the living dead -- ends abruptly when Jubes hears Noriko's reaction. She stands up and turns to face the speedster lingering in the doorway. "What!" Jubes cries out. "No!" This wasn't the reaction she had been hoping for. "No, no, no..."

    "I just, I just thought, like..." Jubilee's voice grows quiet, her tone submissive and perhaps even a little embarrassed. "...Just..." Jubilee looks up, finding the courage to just power through the awkward. "You've been so great about everything, about, like..." One side of her mouth quirks upward as she looks around. The thick blankets that cover the windows. The scrolls and parchments that vampires seem to prefer over regular paper. That little blob of what must be raven poo near window that overlooks the main campus. Oh, and that creepy-as-hell vampire grimoire that mustered the forces of The Malefactor against Xavier's. It's just chilling there on the side table with an empty Sprite on top of it.

    "...All of this. And... The coffin," Jubilee adds, looking back in Noriko's direction. She's trying to maintain eye contact in the right way, but also guard the speedster against an accidental glamour. It's tough. "...I... I just thought you might like a night in a /bed/... That's all."

    ".../A/ night. Singular," Jubilee makes a point to add, smiling softly.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
That's definitely raven poo.

And Noriko realizes rather quickly that she just screwed up /the/ surprise.  There's a flash of her eyes wider before she pushes her mouth to the side, a worried wrinkle forming and then gone.  She smiles, red at her cheeks but that ease of the self-possessed already relaxing her frame as she leans against the door jam casually, giving Jubes the floor.

"I like the coffin."  Noriko could have made it wider if she wanted, but she kept things cozy enough in there to keep Jubes close to her.  "Well the coffin does have its limitations..." she admits with a touch of coyness.

Spend the night in bed..."Without you?"  The speedster tilts her head at a speed the vampire can easily see.  It must feel awkwardly purposeful to the speedster having to move that slow, the way a snake must feel as it slowly coils or a big cat crawling low before a pounce.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation squints one eye, her mouth curling upwards to stare back at Noriko, like a gunslinger at high noon. "I'll be there, too," she replies softly. Jubilee closes the gap between her and Noriko and reaches out with one hand, casually playing with the bottom of Noriko's raglan shirt. "Under the covers and everything...!" She announces it with no shortage of pride. Jubilation spent a portion of the evening practicing. Beds are great for many things, but the thought of using them for sleep is just so strange to vampires. Rogue came over and helped Jubilee figure out how to do it a few hours ago.

    "And, I like the coffin, too... I just..."

    She gets awkward again, forced to take inventory of all the indignities that Noriko has had to swallow throughout all of this. Jubilee, meanwhile, was really just thinking of herself.

    "... I dunno, I just wanted to repay you," she finally says. It's not the best way to express the thought, but it'll do. Hopefully Nori'll get it.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Oh you have a tab," Noriko says without missing a beat.  "Don't worry.  The second you say I do you're screwed, at least for a little while," till death parts them...again.  But Noriko doesn't bring that up, at least doesn't try to as evidenced by her glossing over the details of what 'a little while' means.

The speedster would rather focus on the bed, alternative uses that spring to mind when Jubilation plays with the hem of her shirt.  She chews lightly on her lower lip.  "Wait you made the bed?"  She's legitimately impressed Jubes remembered how, and briefly wonders if there will be some weird, unintended surprise from there..being covers and everything.

"It's lovely."  Noriko's gauntlet gently grips Jubilation's wrist, her head tilting toward the bed.  "But you here with it?  Way better," she says in a low voice as she moves deeper into the bedroom, snagging Jubilation's wrist without any effort to force her.  She careens face first, arms out and legs splayed as if hugging the bed, an impulse she couldn't deny herself at the last second.