4684/Let's All Go To the Lobby

From Heroes Assemble MUSH
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Let's All Go To the Lobby
Date of Scene: 11 January 2021
Location: Jubilee and Noriko's Room
Synopsis: Nori and Jubilation's recent activities have caught up and Jubes decides that it's no way for two roommates to behave. But, there is another way...
Cast of Characters: Jubilation Lee, Noriko Ashida




Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Room 404 has a certain chaotic charm to it. Neither of its inhabitants had an affinity towards putting things away. It was a controlled nightmare, though, as everything had its place but its place was never where any other set of roommates would think to look. Sovereignty was shared between two queens and while one of them was off conquering lands in the name of the queendom, that left Jubilation Lee in total control. She lies on her back, head pressed against the pillows of Noriko's bed. Her ukulele is in her hands and she's strumming and singing a song. It's not one of her own but it's certainly not one for an audience.

    Hey, soul sister
    Ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo
    The way you move ain't fair, you know
    Hey, soul sister
    I don't wanna miss a single thing you do tonight...

    She's in the middle of playing the single most overplayed ukulele song in the known universe. And would never admit it. Good thing she's alone!

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Look the detritus warns them of intruders, both in present time and in past...maybe not so much the latter, but Noriko always picks something to look at on the floor before she leaves the room.  Maybe it's just a habit from her days on the street.  Staying vigilant.  Gotta protect the kingdom!  It's her job!

What else is Noriko's job?  Bringing home the bacon, some actual bacon.  That's gold.  Noriko arrives with a sack of bacon...a whole sack.  She doesn't even turn around rapidly to give the usual courtesy.  Blink blink.  She holds the sack with her fist like one would a newly purchased goldfish.  Mouth open slightly.  Her that is.  Statued.

"Hey."  It might not be loud enough to overpower the melodic strumming.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Is that bacon coming from the hallway? Sniff. SHIT. Jubilee sits up suddenly, her eyes going wide. Fuck fuck fuck. Too late to move. Can't escape. Caught. Uhhh. Honestly, even trying was futile when Noriko Ashida is your roommate. Still, Jubes is an optimist at heart and tries anyway, very very quickly switching to a different set of chords, strumming, and lyrics.

    Let's all go to the lobby
    Let's all go to the lobby
    Let's all go to the lobby
    And get ourselves a treat!

    She flourishes her fingers against the strings for a bit of a finale, three quick strums. Dun dun dun! She raises her eyebrows and waggles them a little bit. Did Nori buy it?

    Jubilee moves her ukulele to the side and begins to climb off of Noriko's bed. Her own was currently entertaining a delegation of dirty laundry and had been racking up quite the bar tab. "Hey!" she replies, obviously more than a little frazzled. Full stop. "What's with the bacon?" she asks, pointing an index finger, trying to pass the spotlight off of herself. She was nervous about something, perhaps even more than being caught lying on Noriko's bed playing some shame in the key of C.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko smirks suddenly at the quick switch.  "So is this your dark dark secret?  What you do with Ukes in the dark?"  There's a micro flash of disappointment when Jubilee begins to climb off her bed.  She zips to about a foot from the bed, then jumps on.  "You leaving?"  Maybe she assumed because Jubes is getting up, that she's headed out.  That disappointment has transferred to her tone instead.  It had to go somewhere.  Law of Emotional Wrecks.

"I thought I'd go for something besides the sweet," bananas that is.  Noriko's eyes twitch from Jubilee down to various spots on her person as if they might tell her something of what's up.

"I like your singing," Noriko says softly.  Gobble gobble, stuff the mouth. HOW COME THIS NEVER LASTS LONG ENOUGH...GOBBLE GOBBLE.  In the course of a few seconds of impulsively eating, she's gotten through a quarter of this ghetto bag that looks like it is just some leftover plastic produce sack.  "You want some?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee seems to spring right out of the bed just as Noriko gets in. She turns and stares at Nori. The bed. The empty space next to Nori. On the bed. The bacon grease. The bed. She starts to flush, as she's done countless times. This time, though, it's a compliment from an important person that brings the color to her cheeks. "Thank you," she replies in a whisper, clutching her ukulele to her chest. Jubes gulps, closes her eyes, and shakes her head rapidly at the offer of bacon. Her shoulders are tense, her knuckles turning white as she grips the ukulele like it's the last one on Earth.

    "We need to talk," she announces softly.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
The thanks hits Noriko swift.  Immediately she freezes, bacon on its way to her open mouth.  There's more than one piece, revealing the embarrassing fact that she eats like a pig going to town on slop.  And the flush.  Noriko's oblivious but she knows she be catching on to something.

Brown eyes dash to Jubes' knuckles, but flit back when Jubilee says those dreaded words no one, especially teenagers, wants to hear.  She swallows and slowly puts the bacon back into the bag like it's a loaded gun.

"Okay..."  Noriko's always tried to give Jubilee more space to talk than other people, but this is more like her mind is racing around like a jack rabbit as her heart rate spikes.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "So... About the other night... " she begins, taking a deep breath. The other night. When they made out in Noriko's bed for a while. That other night. "You're my best friend, Nori..." Jubes adds, trying so hard to work through her thoughts. Her brain matter was thick, viscous, and she wasn't wearing golf shoes. She didn't even own any. She starts pacing the walkable space of their room in her bare feet.

    "And my roommate."

    "And roommates and friends, even best friends, don't do that..." Jubes adds, a mournful look briefly shown on her face. Like it or not, they's friends and roommates. Perhaps in another life, it would be different, but this is the way it is. Assigned to room 404, perhaps at random or by design, Jubes and Nori are roommates.

    "Fuck, why is this so hard?" she whines. Jubilee's face wrinkles into a self-loathing wince. This went so much better in her head and she hasn't even started. Jubes takes a deep breath.

    "So... I guess what I'm trying to say..." Jubilee mutters, looking off to the side, as if her next word was printed on a sign in her periphery. As if looking over might make this smoother.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Nonononono.  Noriko can feel a part of herself dying inside at the way starts and how it all seems to unfold, tumbling down like a tragic Jenga tower.  The pacing, the nervousness, the mournful look.  The speedster can't hide her emotions because she can't even cycle through them fast.  She's stuck.  That whole thing is her primary defense and suddenly she feels like here, in their room, she wishes she could retreat from what feels like an inevitable terror.  She looks utterly crestfallen, guilty, and hasn't uttered a word.

About the only thing Noriko feels like she's done right at this point is she hasn't cut Jubilee off, but that's only because she feels like a fennec fox that has finally been caught by a predator...even though their quickness means they practically have /no/ predators.

Nori holds her breath unwittingly while her heart beats faster still, the silences between stretch longer from falling away from her concentration into despair.

Despondency settles on her.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    The ukulele is set on top of Mount ItsStillClean, cresting vigilantly over the majestic pile of clothes. Jubilee nervously takes a seat next to Noriko on the bed, finally. She's too wrapped up in not messing this up to even notice the speedster's reaction. Her eyes are anywhere but on Noriko right now. Ah, teenage awkwardness. "I guess what I'm trying to say," she repeats. Her hands are now pressing down on her thighs, nerves getting the better of her.

    "Will you go the movies with me?" she blurts out suddenly. And once it starts, her mouth starts going as quick as it possibly can, her tongue almost getting tied in knots as she tries to avoid Nori replying before she's done. "...And not as friends. Not as roommates."

    "You know... You could tell me I look nice and we could share a popcorn and drink from the same soda and sit real close and you pretend to yawn and put your arm around me and kinda get to second base but you think I don't notice and we get kicked out before the end of the movie because we can't keep our hands off each other!" A long, fast, run-on sentence.

    "And... And..." She's losing momentum.

    Second wind! "...And you'd walk me home, I mean, to our room, and you're all nervous about whether I had a good time and if we should kiss and then you get enough nerve to do it so you kiss me goodnight and then you'd go down to the kitchen or something so that way it's like we don't live together, but... You know, you could come back to the room after five minutes or whatever."

    Jubes catches her breath, filling her lungs with air before summarizing it all in a single word. "A date," she adds, staring at Nori. She leans forward nervously, as if doing so would mean the answer reached her sooner. "Don't say no, Nori," Jubes adds. "Don't say no."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko is so lost that Jubilee's repetition slides by her in a blur of sounds like they came straight out of Charlie Brown's parents' mouths in a Bruce Willis explosion sequence.  Finally realizing she's spacing out as Jubilee begins her question, Nori's mind flits back and forth, slower, no too slow, faster!  Overshot like a 13 year old air-balling.  Her mind bounces around desperate, frantic like a skittering woodland animal.

All Noriko really hears at this point is, "-the-movies-with-me?" wooshing and snailing by at different speeds.  She looks actually confused, mind now racing to figure out how to reply to a question when she has no idea what it was about.  But understanding does unfold as Jubilee shoots off.  For once in her speedy life, it feels a little easier for Noriko to listen.  Able to ease up on her destroyed concentration, she slips into the listening quite naturally, trying to piece together how what was said earlier is...oh.  OH.

Noriko blinks possibly three times, possibly fifteen as the avalanche of words tumbles into a rushing river that carries everything faster and further than she ever imagined or hoped would happen.

"So you don't want this to stop?"  So, so slow, but that comes out so so fast as if her delayed processing, the shock of the realization is only now catching up with her...the understanding unveiling itself in realtime.  Noriko blushes hard at her own blunder and glances down to the bacon as if stuffing it all in her mouth at once might save her from putting her feet in her mouth again.  THERE'D BE NO MORE ROOM RIGHT?  RIGHT?!

"I would love to," is what comes out next.  "But I might have to sneak us in."  Oh god, ruining the moment.  Her internal monologue races through MSTKing herself, proverbial head-desking, the whole gamut of wtf Nori.  "I mean-uh-yeah," the words spurt out quickly and she looks down.  Oh yeah, bacon.

"There's no way I would have said no Jubilation."  The warm grin that surfaces is just as unplanned as anything else.  "I like you.  A lot." Okay too far, wtf again.  aodjfijfdoaijdfijdapfoj#$#3665!#$#3665!!!!  Her brain scrambles like it does when she gets too hopped up on electricity, tooooo hopped up.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    It's been more than a year. Jubilee has gotten really, really good at understanding Noriko when she's sputtering through different speeds. At first it was a challenge, but she actually adapted to it pretty fast, all things considered. It's easier when you care.

    Jubilee is the lucky one in this exchange. She didn't have to wait very long for a response to her outburst.

    "No I don't want this to stop!" Jubilee exclaims, grinning at Nori like she's some kind of fool for even thinking it.For a speedster, Jubilee's speech was probably agony but she didn't know any better. She didn't live in eternity the way Noriko does.

    With the tension she's been feeling all afternoon released, the feelings in her heart and mind take the wheel. She leans forward so that her lips are just about a piece of paper's thickness away from Nori's.

    "...This is only just starting," she whispers.

    The rest of the moment is something of a blur. Jubilee would be able to recall, later, that she smiled the biggest smile of her life, and even point out that Noriko said she'd love to go to the movies, which was high praise from the speedster. She'd probably also be able to tell you how much she enjoyed hearing her whole name coming from Noriko's mouth, instead of the usual Jubes.

    Mostly, though, she'd most vividly remember what she did next, which was lunge forward with all her weight, laughing happily as she claims a spot on top of Noriko and making a bold statement.

    "You're It!" she exclaims before closing her eyes and lowering herself to secure a gentle kiss from Noriko's lips.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
A wide smile appears, growing in a blur like if the Cheshire Cat got into a bag of speed...or Jubilee got into something else.  Though the smile is way more goofy than creepy.  "I thought," she looks down, blushing.  "You were going to say everything was a mistake, a bad idea."  She thought she might be staring down a cliff, preparing herself to be pushed.

Noriko doesn't tell Jubilee how much she's thought about it, asking the other girl on a date herself.  So slow!  So slow!!!  But Noriko's not even thinking that.  She's just basking in the shock and afterglow as her world stretches out again.  Then her eyes flick up to Jubilee when she leans in, her breathing fast but deep, like an athlete's in fast forward.  Utterly obvious.  It hitches at her roommate's whisper...no, her /notRoommate/.  Her /date/.  A brief flicker of blue light darts deep in her eyes.

A small compressed sound comes out of Noriko at the lunge in surprise.  Jubilee gets the jump on her, and Noriko falls back on the bed by the bag of bacon.  She angles her chin up a little, wanting the kiss to come that much quicker, relishing in this forever.

I'm It?!  I'm It?!!  In the kiss, Nori reaches up to flip Jubilee's hair forward over the both of them to complete the makeover to that familiar Cousin.  "You are," she smirks out of the kiss before flipping Jubilee over to dart in for another kiss.  She's not incredibly strong, but her momentum plus the gift of gravity come to her aid.

Wait.  'How long is she supposed to hold this for again?' she ponders ignorantly.  It's not like anyone pays attention to time in heaven.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "We only have good ideas," Jubes reminds. She's as happy as a clam riding a clam rollercoaster. "And never, ever make mistakes!"

    Would Jubilee have liked being asked out? Sure! But, was she one to wait and see? NOT ON YOUR LIFE. She was a reach out and take it kind of girl and the thing she wanted to reach out and take happens to sleep fifteen feet away.

    Becoming Cousin Itt was hardly how Jubilee thought this was going to go, but she's seen the same movies as Nori and would happily go along with it. "Meep meep mee mee mee," she chirps, trying her best to do a Cousin Itt impression. After a pause, she grins and gives Nori a nudge with the meat of her palm. "Shut up!" she says happily, not even waiting to hear that her Itt needed work.

    Nori makes quick work of Jubes, easily reversing their positions. And then the kiss. It starts off well enough -- apparently they share a room in heaven, too -- but then... Teenagers. Jubilee's eyes close tight and air hisses noisily through her nose. There's an intensity she's injecting into this, a hunger, the sort of thing they warn about in pamphlets in the nurse's office. Until...

    "Nope!" she cries out, bringing the back of her hand up to wipe any moisture from her lips. She worms her way out from under Noriko, seal-team rolling onto the floor. "Nope, nope, nope," she cries out, frustrated sounds echoing through their room. It's as though physically distancing herself from Noriko was the only thing she could do to prevent what was inevitably going to come next.

    On the floor, Jubilee's breathing was heavy, haggared, and downright telling. With her back on the ground, Jubilation's chest rises and falls rapidly as she tries to catch her breath and return from oblivion. "...Not till our date," she declares breathlessly. "No kissing, no making out, nothing, until then!" Her cheeks fill with air, ballooning like a chipmunk for a moment before she lets the air out through purses lips.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"The best."

But Cousin It has a purpose.  Cousin It's hair curtains around them both until Noriko flips the situation.  Also Cousin It's hair is really nice...err, Jubilee's.  Too far?  Too far.  But Jubilee's impression gets Noriko chuckling only to get 'shut up,' still smiling like a loon.  It's okay, Noriko's Pikachu pika piiikaaa probably needs work too.  Noriko will forgive her.

Noriko only wants to take off like a race car when things start to escalate, as if she was waiting for some kind of consensual moment to give her the keys to the car!  YAAAAAY!  NOOOOOOO!  She pants heavily, so quickly her chest blurs up and down, making no effort to hide the desire stoked inside.

When Jubilee tries to worm her way out, Noriko tries to get her back by instinctively reaching to tickle her in playful retribution, her eyes narrowed, that smirk.  But the thing is, metal-sheathed fingers end in thick nubby ends.  "I am so handicapped," she chuckles before just staring fondly at the girl.

"This is so unfair," Noriko pouts, then immediately perks up, sitting straight like a lookout lemur.  "So tonight right?"  She's joking, but of course every bone in her body aches for a yes.  Does she care what movie?  No...does it really matter?  Absolutely not.

Oh wait, that's a pillow coming at Jubilee, right at her face.  Say hi to the pillow!  Or bye!

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee does Noriko the kindness of playing ticklish, reaching her hands for the metal fingers to protest frantically! Once she slips onto the floor, however, she's in the clear. The gauntlets didn't do them any favors here, but Jubes can imagine that rare treat when the metal comes off and Nori's warm skin comes out to play. For a moment, Jubilee's imagination runs with that, causing one of her hands to drift up to the neckline of her shirt and idly play with the material, pinching it between her thumb and forefinger. Deep breaths, Jubes. Deep breaths.

    The expression of desire, of muted ache, morphs to a big toothy smile at Noriko's suggestion that their date be tonight. The eagerness confirmed to Jubes that this was the right move. That Nori wanted it as much as she did. But... "No!" she exclaims, giggling a little. "I gotta get /ready/!" This wasn't some outing. Some spur of the moment thing. Jubilee just announced her intentions plain and simple. It was a date.

    "And we're not sneaking in!" she adds. She could spring for a movie date -- it was her idea, after all! Maybe some chumps have been swearing, too. That might mean being able to afford candy.

    Jubilee sits up in time to get whomped in the face by a pillow. When it falls into her lap, she's making a big goofy grin at Noriko -- her eyes are a little crossed, her smile is big and closed. She holds it for a moment before giggling and returning to normal. Normal. Her new normal was covered by one of those pamphlets... She could feel herself drifting back, just the right synapse could fire and send her lunging back to the bed. BUT...

    "I'm....I'm going to take a shower..." she suddenly announces, managing to get up to her feet and stumble across the mess of their room. Jubilee opens the door to their bathroom and lingers in the doorway, her hand pressed against the threshold as she waits. Stares. "Friday?" she asks, hope in her voice.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Faker," Nori teases with a grin and a wink, perfectly happy at the make believe response.

"I'm ready, you're ready," Noriko shoots off like a gun in the hands of a freak berserker.  Of course this has more meaning than /one/.  This is just a burst of excitement incarnate manifesting, rapidly blooming in full view like a little kid who has just rolled around in Willy Wonka leaves letting them all stick to their mouth.

Noriko's mind skips back to the image that flashed before her not a few moments ago.  The pinch of Jubilee's shirt.  She smiles goofily until the seemingly sudden announcement that they are NOT sneaking in.  "Okay, we are not sneaking in, but I /am/ paying," she insists.  Look, Jubilee doesn't get to beat Noriko to the punch in everything, if Noriko can help it.  The Japanese girl is awfully defenseless against Jubilee though.  The outlook is probably pretty bleak.

SHE GETS TO TAKE A SHOWER FIRST?!  There's no protesting, but Noriko is fantasizing both about chucking a billion pillows at Jubilee so she can get to the bathroom first, and...other things.  NO THE OTHER THINGS!  If only she could run away from them like Indie and that giant boulder.  Right.  If only she had a whip to save her.

Noriko's gaze traces Jubilee to the door and sighs.  She nods and flops back on her bed.  Clenching the sheet, she lets out a prolonged, almost growl of frustration.  It's definitely something Jubilee can hear.  Friday.  She has to wait till Friday.  Maybe she can cash in some of her IOU notes with the other students from all those pumpkin bong sales.  Yeah.  Time to get people to pay up or repossess something of greater or ooookay, equal value...or whatever.

"Friday!" Noriko calls out as she stares at the ceiling with starry eyes, happier than she's been in years.  She's not going to even get in any catnaps tonight.