4740/Best Worst First Date Ever

Best Worst First Date Ever
Date of Scene:	15 January 2021
Location:	Woods Away From Civilization
Synopsis:	Noriko tries to salvage something of her first date with Jubilee...and succeeds! Funsy teenage times are had and Noriko asks Jubilee to be her girlfriend after implying the question with 'expert' subtleness. After explicit obligatory questions are exchanged, the answers are yesyesyes!
Cast of Characters:	Jubilation Lee, Noriko Ashida

---

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    While the dating rituals might call for an emotional storm off that, ultimately, is meant to be intercepted, Jubilation's was born from a more genuine place. She didn't want her fairytale as-seen-in-the-movies date to include any of this. She didn't account for sudden visitors or soda spills and just wants it all to be over. Jubes runs as fast she can out of the theater -- she even ducked through one of the non-standard exits that lead right to the parking lot and bypass the lobby. This is all a normal-speed person can do when a speedster might be on her tail. Be unpredictable. Plus, she /really/ didn't want to run through the packed lobby covered in soda. In terms of getting away, Jubes is at a disadvantage and knows it. But, a girl can try.

    She takes a very unusual path back to the campus -- totally and completely different from the way they took to get the movies. But, eventually all routes converge. Jubilee's sprint putters to a slow jog and then finally to a halt just bordering on the outskirts of Xavier's. She's stopped at a crossing signal, waiting so desperately for electronic permission to cross and put an end to this disaster. She looks over her shoulder to check for any signs of pursuit. Her eyes are welling up with tears, a product of frustration and feeling sorry for herself. She managed to get so far before it started, but the crossing signal forced her to stop and, therefore, take an emotional inventory. Fuck this 'don't cross' signal. With a deep breath, she takes a hesitant step off the curb, weighing her chances at getting across the busy road before it's time...

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko scoured Salem Center for Jubilee without a care for exposing her powers.  She's not sure how she lost Jubilation to begin with but she keeps tracking down false positives as if they are coming out of the woodwork.  She didn't even stay to tell everyone off in the theater, or Simon, or bother to clue him in.  If she had time to think about it, she wouldn't be sure it would do any good or make things worse.  The only thing that can explain it at all, the random searches, going back over places in case she missed Jubilee.  Panic.

But none of that mattered, nothing mattered when everything hit the fan and Jubilee ran out.  Her heart sank two more levels and many orders of magnitude for Jubilee.  She continues to berate herself thousands of times interspersed with even more worry.  How could she /let/ this happen?  Is Jubilee okay?  These thoughts really started to take a dark turn when Noriko just can't seem to find Jubilation.  What if something happened to her?  It banishes all of her self-involved thoughts.  In all of this panic, Noriko has to run off and discharge often, her body starting to ripple with electricity.  She's not terribly overcharged now, but she can't control anything either, so discharges aren't focused, spiky.

None of this does any wonders for how Jubilee must feel, and Noriko intuitively knows it.  Then Noriko spots Jubilee as she's crossing and sees things Jubilee can't.  How dense things are, the odd difficult timings she might come across making that journey.  She rushes up behind the girl and captures Jubilee in her jacket, arms capturing her before any further steps can be taken.  She knows this is alarming, but so is the possibility of Jubilee getting hit with any surprises.  She bodily tugs her back to the step.  Noriko doesn't let go and doesn't say a word.  Sorry just doesn't feel good enough and she knows Jubilee isn't processing through her emotions as fast as she is.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    It was not uncommon to find herself suddenly in the middle of something when Noriko is involved. Tonight, that would be suddenly being held and pulled back onto the sidewalk. She lets out a bit of a shriek, though it's quiet. Truthfully, Jubes expected that this would be coming sooner than later, but it's still shocking. Jubes lifts her arms but doesn't use them to reciprocate the gesture. In fact, she uses them to worm her way free of Noriko's grasp.

    Nervously, Jubilee pulls a stick of gum she had tucked into the waistband of her skirt, shakily unwraps it, and shoves it into her mouth. Chew chew chew. Jubilee swallows and forms a smile after a bit of a struggle. For the first time in a while, Noriko is given the mask. Jubes looks away. "...Well, that was just like the Matrix sequels, wasn't it?" she asks, managing a false grin. Just like the Matrix sequels in that it completely sucked. Something laid out with the best possible foundation and, yet, turned out impossibly awful and disappointing. Jubilee takes a breath and tries again.

    A pause. "...Who taught me how to drink, am I right?" she tries, her smile less obvious. Another swallow. Another try.

    "...Is it too late to take advantage of their free refill policy?"

    "Good thing Ellie and Simon came... I mean, we really should be thinking about the failing movie industry. They need all the ticket sales they can get, right?"

    "...Don't you think that popcorn is a lot saltier than it used to be? Probably to make us thirstier," she tries. "...Though, I'm not sure why, since they'll refill your drink for free..."

    Jubilee tries so very hard but it's no use. She lifts her eyes to watch Noriko -- tears coming back in full force. She holds this stare for a second before her lip begins to quiver. She holds stalwart for just a second or two and then... throws her arms around Noriko and begins to cry, burying her eyes into the other girl's shoulder. "It wasn't supposed to be like this," she wails.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko really does look like some scrawny weirdo trying to kidnap someone, but the double-takes of passerby are appeased by the double standard such as her being a girl of a certain age.  It doesn't alleviate the inherent confusion and unease as Jubilee begins to struggle.

Jubilee's captor lets go immediately when Jubilee struggles, but only once she's back on the sidewalk safe and sound.  Without the confidence she should have at this point, Noriko still hesitates and has to weigh the risk of every touch against other outcomes.  With all that frantic mortal fear for Jubilee culminating in an irrational spike at the crosswalk situation...and with all the masking, the shoving down she did earlier to try and glide through the earlier disasters, she has nothing left to deal with Jubilee's masking.

The girl doesn't say a word.  She's helpless against the deep sadness that finally catches up with her like a microcosmic demonstration of her life.  There's disappointment too, and it's written all over.  Slumped, she finally remembers what pockets are for, hands jammed into jean pockets.  To onlookers she just looks guilty and cold, but Jubilee would know better.

Something deep in Noriko rises to the occasion and holds her tears back as she quickly shifts to hold Jubilee.  It'd be easy to write this off as one of her ineffective coping mechanisms or just some byproduct of her stoic upbringing she's rejected.  But those arms are warm, tender, and won't let go.  No sacrifice of tenderness or vulnerability.  She just wants to be there for Jubilee and nothing else matters, a glimpse of inner strength that shines bright in the night with no threat of being overshadowed.

"I know," Noriko says after letting Jubilee cry a bit in peace.  Noriko wishes she was strong enough to pick Jubilee up and take her away from here without a word, from the public eye.  If only she could run them back in time to a better date.  "Let's get out of here.  The date isn't over."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Why were you so..." Jubes tries. Her words are pushed out by tears, shuddering up and down as her sorrow twangs against her vocal cords. "...Happy?" Jubilee's crying begins to intensify a bit, recalling Noriko quipping with Simon and Ellie while she was stuck in the middle of it, feeling more alone than she could recall in recent memory. She had been hung out to dry, first figuratively and now -- thanks to the soda -- literally. Jubilee squeezes Noriko tightly, her words morphing into a bit of a wail as her lungs struggle to keep up.

    After a few breaths, Jubilee releases her grip, finding a more natural cadence. Her crying begins to soften, puttering into a series of unsteady exchanges of air before starting to resemble normal breathing. Tears have traced a reflective path down her cheeks, onto her jawline. It's not a look that suits her.

    "Yes it is," she replies, despondently dragging her foot against the pavement.

    Only a half second or so goes by before Jubilee immediately reels that back. "Okay," she replies, looking up at Noriko with tear-filled eyes, a smile forming. "Let's go..." To where? Who knows! For what? A mystery. Jubilee's smile remains as she reaches out to gently feel the material of Noriko's shirt. "...Got soda on you..." she says, dragging her fingertips against the other girl's sternum.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko doesn't want to answer right now.  Not here.  Nothing about it feels right to her.  "I'll tell you when we get there," she says cryptically when the crying abates enough for Jubilation to hear.  The words are soft and somber.

But those three words hit Noriko like a brick over the back of the head.  Her chest caves in a little as if it were followed by a gut punch.  She pushes through it a quarter of a second with a summoned stubbornness.  A determined NO! strikes inside, white hot.

Then Jubilee changes her mind.  Life /is/ a rollercoaster for Nori even if she rides everything so long and fast.  It surprises her and sadly, she finds herself having a single doubt that maybe this isn't real, that it's just for her and another front.  She hates that she catches every racing thought so clearly, unaware that it might be a product of her powers.  She shakes off the fear and self-pity quickly in the next thought though.  This is Jubilee.  She's kind, generous, and so much more.

Noriko smiles softly and closes her eyes at Jubilee's touch.  "So clumsy," she teases, gaze no less warm.  Her heart beats much-much-much faster.  Jubilee slips her back to her normal rhythm in an instant and beyond.  It might be a wonder to anyone but Noriko how she's able to get Jubilee all the way into her jacket from it just being on her shoulders, zipped up, hoodie cinched down to where Jubilee can't see, and finally securely into a frontward koala like position.  There's the miiiinor courtesy of Noriko giving Jubilee only an instant or two in an alley.

"Tuck down and hold tight," Noriko says, voice low in Jubilee's ear.  This time she's holding Jubilee to her, and the need for the change in position becomes absolutely clear.  This is no joy ride.  It's urgent.  It's a speedster's spiriting away.  With such singular focus, Noriko seems to have little troubles keeping her powers in check.  Jubilee's body won't have time to chill any further.  She won't even have time to think before they arrive in a small meadow surrounded by dense forest.

When did Noriko gather this wood?  When did she grab that thermos?  Get these mittens that she takes the time to slide on with evident care?  Two blankets, one for the ground and one that she wraps around them after gently setting Jubilee down into a seated position.  She knows the girl is going to feel awful and rubs her back after loosening the hood.

It's just them and the stars.

Noriko forgot to light the fire.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    There was little that Jubilee hates more than being sad, dwelling, crying. Well, she might hate Simon more, but that's an emotion best explored another time. And, honestly, she really doesn't. But, again, that's an emotion for another time. While these moments might be longer for Nori, giving her ample time to experience them from all different angles and considerations, Jubilation does not have the same luxury. Or perhaps it's a curse? She's able to experience the discomfort only briefly, though no less intense. All of the horrors of the movie theater -- not the movie, itself -- seem to melt away as Noriko calls her clumsy. Jubes finds her smile suddenly becoming lopsided, dopey perhaps, and her breath held in.

    Jubilee only has a couple of moments to process what's about to happen -- long enough to think to pluck off her shoes and hold onto them. They were going for a ride...

    There's a sudden blur as the city's streets, cars, lights, and the tranquility of the woods all appear in the same moment. Before she even can process what she was looking at, she was in the meadow and on the blanket, her hair further annihilated by physics. Fucking physics.

    "Ohhh...." she whispers, closing her eyes. She takes a few deep breaths and tries to steady herself. Jubilee thought she had gotten used to her little jaunts with Noriko, but... that was something else. "Holy shit..." she coos at herself, her eyes closing tightly. When they open an eternity later, Jubilee looks around. "Holy shit..." she says again, though her tone is entirely different.

    "You did this?" she asks, sounding a bit like she doens't believe it.

    "For me?"

    Her head swivels, taking it all in. The preparation. The thermos. The unlit fire -- (that's okay! B-). Jubilee snap-turns to look at Noriko. "...Nori..." she says in a whisper. Jubilee stares at the other girl, so close, so warm, and empties her lungs slowly. Wait... She blinks a couple of times and wants to look down under the blanket so much, but she doesn't dare look away from Noriko.

    Is she wearing mittens?

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Those mittens seem like an IMMEDIATELY BAD IDEA to Noriko at second blush.  Without looking, Noriko quickly snatches them, tosses them into the unlit fire, and cracks out a miraculously directed bolt to set it all ablaze.  She's not even that great with her gauntlets, but the moment passes so quickly, her focus all on Jubilee, that it's unclear if she even notices.  WHO CARES?!  Jubilee didn't see or feel the mittens did she?  Dumb purchase.  Noriko just takes the girl's hands to warm them herself, encasing them with hers.  She knows there's no way the mittens haven't been noticed.

Noriko is too busy searching for Jubilee's reaction, her body language, turning her blurring eyes almost edging all of the white out of her eyes as they catch the moonlight.  It's a flash of oddity not completely unfamiliar, just not to this extent.

"Well.  Yeah," as if there could be no other answer.  There could be no one else.

Noriko can't bring herself to reach for the thermos.  She just scoots in closer and draws the blanket tighter around them.  Maybe she never wanted to share Jubilee with a room of strangers to begin with.

"You deserve a better first date than the movies Jubilation," but Noriko went along with it anyways, because it's what Jubilee wanted.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubes lets out a brief but intense shriek from the crack of the lightning, but it's soon replaced with a delighted smile when the campfire ignites. And then... the rough-spun fabric of the cheap mittens is replaced with something soft, familiar, and warm.

    Jubilee's eyes reluctantly dart from Noriko's to take in their surroundings. It's not hard to draw parallels between this place, the site of their first date, and the clearing not too far from Logan's cabin, the site of their first kiss. Jubilation's head is swimming -- was this intentional? Did Noriko orchestrate this on purpose?

    "I really do," Jubes agrees, managing a smug smile. She too scoots closer until she can't any longer. By now, her tears were a distant memory. Noriko had dried them with her words, her gesture, the campfire. And, of course, the speed of their travel. "...And so do you," she adds, dropping the bravado in favor of affection.

    Jubilee takes a breath as she feels a stirring inside herself. It was a feeling that might risk ruining this, dialing back the progress they were making. The young mutant tenses and gets closer and closer to Noriko, her mouth agape and inching forward. She stops when it becomes impossible to get any closer... but... There's a rustling under the blanket as Jubes shifts her weight a little and begin to pivot her leg over Noriko's waist. But... She didn't dare. With a gulp, Jubes relaxes and pulls her leg back. The tension she's feeling is finally released in the form of a long exhale, her lungs emptying.

    "This is great, Nori..." she whispers. "Thanks."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko isn't seeking credit and Jubilee's faux entitled quip causes Nori to grin.  First amusement, then a flush washed out some by the yellow flickering light which captures her attention briefly after all of her worry has faded.  For once tonight, she feels comfortable, relaxed.  This isn't just hanging out with her best friend or roommate, but there's an ease in these surroundings despite their associations with events past.  This is /her/ move.

Feeling Jubilee's hesitant move, Noriko smiles to herself, letting it pass out of respect and not a thought dwelling on not having rushed and seized the moment away from Jubilee, because now with a clearer head, she realizes the uglier truth of those instincts in the theater.  Well at least a side of them.

Just after the whisper, Noriko reaches to pull Jubilee closer, one hand reaching to hook behind Jubilee's retreated leg, the other grabbing a fistful of sweater underneath the blanket to pull her into the aborted kiss.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubes really didn't want to be the one. Really really didn't. But, she's seventeen and being pulled forward by feelings and desires that just didn't always have to make sense. Was she really willing to risk this? Risk ruining the best friendship she ever had to make it something more? Was she willing to put that friendship up for grabs? Making out in their room was one thing, but it's entirely different when you call it a date. It becomes something else. These are the worries that keeps Jubilee's leg from completely crossing Nori's waist. These are the doubts that cause her to freeze.

    But... when that hand hooks around her nearly bare leg and that tug comes at her sweater, Jubilee leans all her weight into it. She was not going to be used like an instrument -- the pulling just put her mind back on track. How could she be so drawn to Noriko if there was something wrong about it? Impossible.

    And so, it would be Jubilee's turn to be a speedster, for it's only an instant before she's straddling Nori and pushing her down onto her back, perhaps giving Noriko more kiss than she ordered.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
As much as Noriko's speed hides from the common person, she's actually quite obvious.  How long did she have to muster up the response?  This time it was instinct, but she virtually has all the time in the world in comparison, something quite evident to anyone paying attention.  She's not as smooth as she'd like to appear.

Plus Jubilee has a secret weapon.  Noriko hasn't figured out exactly why she finds Jubilee so disarming and she hasn't really questioned it.  She could list all of the things she loves about Jubilee and fill up a notebook but still be mystified by the math of it all.

Noriko really was expecting something soft that would build even if she's rearing to go, so Jubilee's aggressiveness catches her completely off guard.  Her cheeks burn instantly in response, pushed back so easily.  Although her chest races for shallow breath, one advantage of her speed is a timely responsiveness in execution and body that only a movie or telepathy could accomplish, revving up like a race car.

Fingers twine with Jubilee's locks, keeping them back from the girl's face while her other hand follows the beckons of the deeper stirrings Jubilee summons.  There's infinite care for the other girl's experience as she takes it slow, giving Jubilee a chance to feel her hand slip...slip...Noriko hesitates, a small blip on the edge of something.

This isn't what friends do.  Perhaps it's what roommates do...now?

Noriko grins slyly a moment later and goes for it, just riding through it and trusting these awakening instincts.

Finally, when Noriko really really needs more oxygen, she breathes against the other girl's lips, intoxicated, "I don't want to date anyone else."  Good thing there aren't any strong sources of electricity for miles and miles.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee isn't smooth, subtle, or careful. No one would ever describe her that way and certainly wouldn't now. There's so much weighing Jubilee down -- the disaster of the first part of the night being made up by Noriko's grand romantic gesture, and now...well, something else is happening. Her body is just so heavy and cloddish, right? Surely that's the reason she's pressing down so firmly, struggling against the confines of that blanket. By now, Jubilee's hands have freed themselves and fumbled their way up to Noriko's jawline, holding her face so she can't escape, as if she might try. HA.

    In the wake of their kiss growing more and more intense by the second, Jubilee's breathing becomes rapid, loud, and even a bit hissing as she uses her nose to stay in the moment. What should she do? What was going to happen? No one was around to interrupt them. They're just there, all alone, and, as they say, flowing like the metal on the edge of a knife.

    Noriko's sudden boldness was unexpected. It's not that Jubes hadn't imagined this repeatedly. She had. There was a single scorch mark in their room to prove it. But, she just wasn't expecting it. It's like the sweetest surprise, like a gift that was held back and given only when all hope for more was abandoned. She thought about it. Daydreamed about it. But, all of that hasn't prepared her even one little bit. Jubilee's fingers suddenly curl, one raked through Noriko's hair -- what a shame, it was done so nicely earlier -- and the other grips a handful of Noriko's jacket, tugging on the material desperately as she gasps against the other girl's mouth. Holy shit. When Nori stops their kiss, their progression, Jubes blinks her eyes and gasps for air. Utter disappointment. Jubilee stares at Nori, wide-eyed from the words she's hearing. It's a look that Xavier's students have been exchanging ever since the school was created. It's the look that accuses another of being a secret telepath. Was she in her head invading her thoughts? Was she an empath invading her heart? Or... was she just there with her, pressed close and sharing the same moment?

    "Me neither," comes as a whisper.

    Her eyes dart away for a moment as she comprehends their exchange. "...Do you mean... Do we mean..." She takes a breath. "...Are we...Are you...Am I." Jubes empties her lungs again and rests her forehead against the other mutant's. "...your girlfriend?" Inside, Jubes wants to recoil in horror, worrying that deep-down, Noriko was too punkrock for such a term. Why the fuck did she say that! Because she had to know. The tension of the moment is released, though, as Jubilee's eyes lower and take inventory of their hands. Her eyes close and she lets out the softest giggle. This was fun.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
The blanket was already pretty warm for Noriko, but now it just feels oppressive.  Normally her body adapts easily, but this is different and she doesn't caaaare.  The change in her senses just gives her something more to /feel/.  There's no attempt when captured there.  Jubilee can feel the increased heat at the speedster's jawline, but the cold helps keep it all in check.

Ugh.  That look.  Even if Noriko feels like she'd rather not part over anything else, not see that look...a part of her feels satisfied.  There's another sort of disappointment though she /never/ wants to see on Jubilee's face.  But, there are more pressing things, shockingly.

The first words came surprisingly easy and Noriko is relieved to hear Jubilee echo her desires.  "Well..." But Jubilee keeps talking, so Noriko lets her so she can get her breath and summon some courage that her mind /knows/ shouldn't be so hard right?  Right?!

"Yeah."  Nothing was implied that Jubilee wanted to be her girlfriend.  There was always a chance she could say no to Noriko.  Luckily she doesn't ruin the moment with any further questions about whether she's going too fast or anything.  Noriko may have her brand to worry about, but worrying is for posers.  She wants this, and she may be nervous, but there isn't any notable hesitation.  Noriko hangs in the moment, suspended in a time frame she's not so sure of with no reference to queue her, at least none she can manage to pay attention to right now.

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee could answer that question easily. "Yes," she says immediately. There was such a thing as dramatic timing but she had a feeling that Noriko couldn't enjoy it with her. How would she feel if Noriko dragged out such an answer? It would be agony, for sure, and she experiences life in real-time. "I've... wanted to talk about this for /days/ ... But ... " It doesn't matter. Nothing else matters. The next part of this does not come so easily.

    Do you want to be /my/ girlfriend? Noriko had laid out such a great example, but these words do not come easily. Girlfriend. It's absolutely what she wants. She had implied it with the movie date -- not friends, not roommates -- but girlfriend is a hard word for her to say. Boyfriend is a word that flows naturally. It's flowed before. But, the lump in Jubilee's throat catches her voice. She takes a deep breath and stares at Nori, gently dragging her fingertips against the other girl's cheek.

    "Do you want you to be /my/..."

    Jubes stares. Noriko is the person she loves to see most in the world. The face she craves after the day is over. Her smell, her sounds, just her presence is enough to bring Jubilation great comfort. Never, ever was there someone who she could just /be/ around. No games. No acting. When the door to their room closes, she doesn't have to put on an act. Noriko is the person she could trust fall in front of without even a blink of hesitation. These feelings of trust and comfort had been getting very murky recently, morphing and swirling with the natural teenager feelings. She smells nice. She's beautiful. Her body parts aren't what Jubilee had been expecting all her life. Noriko isn't a boy. She's not her boyfriend. She never could be. But she's perfect.

    "Girlfriend?" she blurts, finding the word. She said it.

    Her hands trace a slow path from Nori's cheeks, down her neck and chest, and grip the open zipper of her jacket. "You better say yes!" she insists, grinning a bit before lowering her mouth to just hover over Nori's, waiting for the answer she was so sure she already had.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
The faster reply cuts ages off of Noriko's era of waiting.  Normally she could push herself to stay in the moment with Jubilee, but all control has slipped away in wait.  It has the benefit of delaying the inevitable.  "Days?" she almost whispers in quiet surprise, but it comes out so quickly that she thinks she's just rudely interrupted Jubilee and simply shuts her mouth.

For Noriko, while this journey has rough and enlightening to say the least, the word girlfriend tumbled out of her with self-surprising ease.  Nothing has felt out of place, and maybe that's because this is Jubilee.  Maybe it isn't.  Noriko has no frame of reference for her feelings.  Especially ones of intense attachment that seize her when Jubilee struggles to find the word, say it, whatever.  Noriko doesn't know.  She only knows there's a hole in the sentence, and it makes her stomach drop into knots at the realization that Jubilee might not be able to reciprocate in this way.  Truth be told, it hadn't crossed her mind and Noriko tries to hide the tense moment.

Noriko keeps snapping into the moment when she sees Jubilee's lips move.  Some of it is habit by now though.  Okay Jubilee's hands are DISTRACTING.  Oh yeah, the question, the answer.  Jubilee's waiting.  Right.  "I asked you right?" she says, obviously playing a little dumb.  But again, Noriko doesn't let Jubilee sweat it, pushing through quickly.  "Yeah.  I'm your girlfriend...and I want to be," she adds and cranes her head up to draw Jubilee into another kiss.

Noriko hasn't even thought about what that means.  Well, not all of it.  She's been kind of distracted.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubes grins, rolling her eyes at her own stupidity. "...Yeah," she agrees. "You did..." She starts laughing softly, a clear indicator that she had just been really dumb and wasn't teasing or anything like that. She was just nervous and maybe a little careful. She wanted to make sure there was no ambiguity, ignoring the fact that this sort of thing could never be a one-way street.

    In terms of schoolwork, Jubilee would not be winning any honors. But, she didn't need to be a genius to know how that pause in her sentence might be taken. "...I've never been with a girl," she explains softly. "Just you." Surely Noriko would know about Josh. That was a quick thing but Nori's keen eye could have surely noticed their interactions -- Josh had been dating Jubilee, never Jubilation. Suddenly, the words 'been with' have such a heavy connotation, so Jubilee quickly clarifies. "...Never dated a girl, just you." She takes a deep breath and considers this again from another angle. She shrugs her shoulders, as if doing so signals coming to a conclusion. "...I never really thought about them."

    "Before you," she says, shifting her weight a little, as if to remind Noriko of all the places they're making contact with each other.

    It's not hard to draw Jubilee to water, apparently, as the mere craning of Nori's neck is enough for her to close her eyes and press her mouth to the other mutant's. This is it. Their first kiss as a couple. There was no turning back. No hiding. Even with her eyes closed, Jubes would find Nori's hands and take each of them before lowering her head to deepen their kiss. If it's their first as a couple, it would be one to remember.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Of course Noriko knows about Josh.  She doesn't know all of the details, but she can infer.  There's a bit of relief at first that Jubilee won't have anyone to compare to, or at least another girl.  Wait.  Getting ahead of yourself Nori, she tells herself.  And then Jubilation speaks again...

Well that confuses the /hell/ out of Noriko.  The sudden correction?  Replacement?  Clarification?  Maybe even /retraction/?!  Does that mean Jubilee /has/ been with a girl just...just...nothing else attached to it?  The dance of assumptions is exhausting and by now Noriko knows how to be patient for what she wants, wait until people reveal more, but never do such conversations have these stakes.  "Oh."  So flummoxed is she that she doesn't revisit the implication of her own words uttered how many days ago now?  That Jubilee was her first kiss?  Ever?

"Ohh," Noriko realizes again, the revelation of Jubilee's meaning driven home by the girl's little awakening movement.  Every touch and moment of the kiss drowns Noriko as if pulling her some place where nothing else exists.  No struggle, no past, just this.  She meets Jubilee with fervor.  Every touch has mattered, but Jubilation is her girlfriend!

This is an innocence untouched by her past, rare and unblemished by pain.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    These two are moving quickly on each other. They haven't even had one complete date and they're already making their claims. But, there's an eagerness in Jubilee's heart and she hates waiting. What is the point? They've broken so many rules of this little game they're playing and, frankly, what's the point in trying again when they got it right from the beginning?

    Noriko's ferver is met with a soft whimper. The moment is compromising Jubes. The woods. The seclusion. The fact that Noriko might have planned all of this. The thought that no one knows they're here. The new definition of what they are. All of it a total secret. She's swimming...

    Jubilee slips her hands past Nori's midriff, around her sides, between her jacket and shirt. After applying some pressure, a squeeze, Jubes leans to the side and rolls over onto her back, taking Nori with her to reverse their positions. "Thank you for the best date ever," she manages before tilting her head back to continue their kiss.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Neither of them like waiting.  Noriko has a lot of practice, more patience that her teachers will ever give her credit for, but they've never seen her so motivated either.  But they are teens and this has building for way too long.  Noriko wouldn't change a thing though.

Teenagers ignore little voices in the backs of their heads all the time, if they hear them at all right?  Some part of Noriko keeps pleading quietly about danger, about her charge, but she just tells it to SHUT THE FUCK UP! when Jubilee's hands invade.  Their kiss swallows the quick, distorted, "Mm."

Noooooo.  Kiss broken.  Yessssss.  Hey I like this!  Nori's mind rattles from moment to moment through the change in momentary fortunes and positions.  There's a pleasantly mischievous (maybe a touch smug) turn of her lips as she gazes lazily down at her girlfriend.  It's not a grin attached to any specific intent beyond the moment and anticipation of another kiss.

No more words.  Noriko seems emboldened by Jubilation's words and takes the reigns with ease, having more troubles holding back than anything.  She knows she'll need to pull away soon.  And at some point they'll have to return for curfew, but it's doubtful they'll be on time.  Noriko wants to make most of it.  Besides, what night is good if it doesn't end in the nick of time?

But these thoughts and needs aren't what make Noriko stop, barely parting.  "This is killing me," she whines without any further explanation.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubes stares up at Nori, returning her smug smile with one of her own. "Why did this take us so long?" she wonders in a whisper. Truthfully, if anyone had asked Jubilee a year ago if she thought she'd be underneath Noriko Ashida, alone in the woods, she would have said absolutely not. That's absurd. Now? It's absurd it took a year.

    Jubilee's hands drag forward and grip the material of Nori's shirt where it clings against her ribs. She tugs at it and leans up, trying to hasten their next kiss. Any hope of escape is futile, as Jubes leans back to free her legs, which cross at the ankles behind Nori's back. No escape.

    Getting back is the furthest thing in Jubilee's mind. Besides, what would even happen when they got back? Yeah, they had a very short jaunt back to the room, but then... what then? Jubilee's face burns at the thought, swimming in it, drowning even.

    Jubilee breaks from the kiss in time to hear Noriko's outburst. Jubes tugs at the other girl, her lips lingering next to Nori's ear. "What is?" she asks.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
The obvious answer is, 'We suck at this,' but the best answer is, "Because we're awesome."  Noriko could probably come up with some justification like hey all this anticipation made everything even more amazing, but who wouldn't see right through that?  Plus her thoughts are consumed by other things.  And the truth of the matter is, she would have bit someone's head off for suggesting anything a year ago.

Oh Noriko's thought about what would happen once they got back.  She's thinking about it now.  Her breath is ragged and rapid as she ravenously steals a kiss.  There's no resisting it.  The dam has broken and Noriko just can't keep her hands off of Jubilee.

"You.  This.  All the things-" Noriko wants to do that are racing through her mind.  All the things.  All.  The.  Things.  And as she inhales that shampoo mingling with the girl's natural scent, she just oh, hey, that's a neck, and really she was kissing within seconds, between words.  Her attentions never /really/ stop.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "We /are/ awesome!" Jubes agrees. A hand goes up to cradle the back of Noriko's head so it can pull her down, steadying their kiss and preventing its interruption. Her eyes close tight, a "mmm" passing through her throat as the physical expression of their feelings towards each other continues against the light of the campfire.

    You. This. All the things. "Isn't it great?" Jubilee replies, flashing Nori a big grin. She says it so eagerly, so earnestly, as she stares back. In an instant, everything is different and, yet, nothing's changed. Nothing at all, really.

    Their kiss seems to cascade like feedback from a speaker -- just growing and growing and growing under its own force. Hearing Nori's ragged breathing, her ravenousness, just sends Jubes into a tailspin. Her own tempo increases to match the other girls, the grip on her shirt tightening in her fist. It all builds to a crescendo of three words whispered into Nori's ear after a brief break in their kiss.

    "Wanna go back?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Anything Jubilee wants, she's getting.  Noriko is destroyed.  Jubilee's sparking enthusiasm has always charmed her, and all the rest?  It's just driving her wild.

"So fucking great."  Noriko grins, her lips parting slightly.  She had forgotten what true happiness felt like till this year, and in this moment, she is eternally grateful she got back in that car with Emma.  Jubilation is so dear to her, something her infinite time allows her to reflect upon in that moment without stunting any momentum.

Noriko is swallowed whole by their kiss, lost in the delirium of all the touch, the fever pitch and the rhythm they've found together.  It becomes remarkably easier for the speedster to keep time with Jubilee, and then...then.

"Fuck yes."

They haven't even touched the homemade hot chocolate.  This qualifies as cooking.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Gulp. Jubilee's eyes widen just a touch at that answer. Her cheeks flood with warmth, seemingly unprepared for that level of enthusiasm. Was it unwanted? Not a chance. Jubilee swallows nervously and starts to slide herself backwards, releasing the hold with her legs to let Nori go. Her attempts to rise to her feet are awkward, trying, but she makes it work. Jubes straightens out her skirt and takes inventory. Where are her shoes? She never got them back on after they arrived. There. Got em.

    She stuffs each foot into its corresponding shoe and then...huh. Where's her gum? She had been chewing it before they came to the woods, but... where the hell is it now?

    Jubes waits, shifting her weight from side to side as she does. She seems nervous, suddenly timid. Suddenly a little unsure.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko really hasn't thought things through.  She never thought things would go the way they have tonight.  This is the first time some part of her has been excited for Jubilee to let her go, but in all seriousness, she doesn't want that either.  All awkwardness of Nori getting to her feet, if any, are hidden by her suddenly being upright like a spritely Willy Wonka.

Everything is already packed up in some backpack that appears, and Noriko blurs around the fire to put it out.  It's not instant, but it works.  She's highly motivated.

As Jubilee gets ready to go, Noriko starts smacking that gum she stole.

"Mint," smirk.  Noriko puts the backpack on backwards and turns around to look over her shoulder.  "You okay?  Ready?  I promise I won't make you throw up."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee reaches up and pats down her hair -- what a fucking shame. It was done so carefully, so perfectly, but...Well, young hearts beat fast. She's unsure what she asked Nori by suggesting they go back. She's nervous about Nori's answer. Too nervous to find out? NOPE. Not even a little.

    Mint. Jubes giggles as she hears the familiar gum smacking. There it is. She takes a deep breath. Was she ready to go?

    "No."

    Perhaps taking a page from the speedster's book, Jubilee moves forward as quickly as she can -- it's still probably an eternity to Nori -- and presses herself against the other girl, booping them both into a tree. Holding her there. Jubes plants a hungry kiss, noisy breathing signaling her teenage hopes and dreams. Slowly, reluctantly, she peels herself back.

    "Now I am."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
When Noriko sees Jubilee coming, the backpack slips away, falling to the ground just in time for Jubilee to get to seize the moment.  A pleasant 'surprise.'  Noriko presses back against Jubilee, but she wants to be pinned there and lets the shorter girl have her way too.  When Jubilee begins to slowly pull away, Noriko reaches out to slip her fingers to the back of the other girl's neck to pull her in for another kiss.

"Okay me too."  Err.  Backpack.  In an obvious blip Noriko snatches the backpack up from the ground, turns, and bends to give Jubilee a ride.

It's a nice stroll back for Noriko once they get back in the vicinity.  They whip through the woods, her steps rather smooth as if her frame naturally seems to adapt to her surroundings, just knowing how much to put her foot down here or extend her leg there or absorb the shock just that much.  It feels almost like gliding.

When they get to the edge of the campus, Noriko slows them to where she can say, "Time to go fast.  Curfew's past."  She gives Jubilee's legs a little squeeze in case she doesn't hear her.  One, two, three, go!  They shoot across the open lawn and right through the front door, up the main staircase, and zip right into their room...The fancy door knocker clacks in their wake.

Noriko stops in front of her bed...the backpack drops first and then she falls over onto her bed with Jubilee still on her back with a big wide smile.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Laughter, happy laughter, is what comes when Jubilee believes their kiss is over, only to be pulled back into another one by Nori's hand. While Nori sets the backpack up again, Jubilee stands there, dumbfounded that it was possible that their date started so terribly and yet could end so perfectly. Just how the hell does that happen?

    Jubilee takes her usual spot, climbing up on Noriko's back. She gives the speedster a kiss on the cheek, grinning as she presses against her. "Mush!" she calls out with a big grin. "Mush! Mush!" Like she's commanding a sled dog.

    Before she knows it, Jubes is hearing the familiar clacking of the door knocker they managed to get from the Home Depot that one time. Music to her ears. Moments later, she's falling onto the bed with Nori, still clinging to her back and laughing as they bounce against the mattress's springs.

    Two clunks announce Jubilee's flats falling to the floor after getting plucked off her feet. After rolling off of Nori's back, Jubes poses there on her side, head propped up on her elbow. "Wanna watch a movie?" she asks, teasing with a playful smile. "Vampire Leap Year is streaming..." It was the first in the series, the prequel to the movie from the theater.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Oh oh oh, it's magic!  Shoot the writer.  Here's a 20 gauge.

If Noriko didn't require stealth...okay she does do a little howl on the way in reply to Jubilation's command.  Nothing can spoil her mood now!

But after they get back and Jubilee climbs off, Noriko does zip into the bathroom to grab her gauntlets, but back as if by the seat of her pants when she spots Jubilee lounging on her side.  So transparent.

"Yes yes yes yes."  With each one, things pop up and fall like they are flying out of a wood chipper.  Shoe, shoe, sock, sock, jeans, jacket (in that order), and Noriko hops onto the bed.  Then she hops off the bed to stop right in front of Jubilee's laptop.  Then she grabs it with her gauntlets /on/, quickly delivering it to Jubilee before turning out the light and finally hopping onto the bed over Jubilee to huddle up behind her.  Yeah, she's in her underwear so what it's so hot!

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee grins as Nori begins woodchippering -- she's seen it before and it was always fun to watch. Shoe, shoe, sock, sock. JEANS. Jubes's eyes widen and her mouth closes, her grin fading. Holy shit holy shit holy shit. The woodchippering went just a little further than it normally does.

    And then the lights are off.

    "Nori..." A nervous voice. Frightened, even. It says so much with just one word. Could Jubes be able to trust herself? Control herself? What would she do? Her breathing intensifies, grows in speed. What comes next is a loud thump, followed by the clatter of items being displaced by a human body. And then laughter.

    In the wake of her nerves, Jubilation fell off the bed and onto the floor. There's a rustling in the dark as she sticks her hand into the air, clutching a bag of Tootsie Rolls she found down there. Time to start the movie.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko is completely none the wiser.  She was hot.  She took her pants off.  She doesn't normally wear pants for a reason.  So Jubilee's tone surprises her and makes her breath hitch.  Did she do something?  Did she go too far?  Noriko can hear the girl's breathing nearly take off, but she never expects Jubilee to fall off the bed.

It's almost a /relief/.  Noriko wasn't sure what was going to come next anyways and this relieves the pressure, minutely.  Well it /will/ be a relief, but first the panic incited causes Noriko to shoot out of the bed and trip on something in the dark.  Their neighbors probably won't be too confused.  They'll probably just think Jubilee missed her target on her way bouncing into the room.

Noriko scrambles in the dark for a pair of 'sleep shorts' which are just her cotton variety of shorts.  She's not sure whose these things are, but they have two holes in them presumably for legs so she sticks her feet in them and then spastically spurts back into her bed.

"Cool.  Tootsie Rolls."  A part of Nori melts inside and makes sure her gauntlets are secure as she reminds herself that they aren't in the woods and she has to waaaaaait.  Sigh.  Hopefully that was not audible or very quick.  Noriko believes it was the former.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubes lets out a relieved sigh. Cool. Tootsie Rolls. She climbs to her feet and bends down to pick up the laptop, guided by the glow of its screen. She brings it into the bed and tucks into the empty space next to Nori. Jubes strikes the spacebar to get the movie going before pressing her cheek against Noriko's. Once the opening credits get going, Jubes begins to unwrap Tootsie Rolls, each one offered to Noriko after it has been freed from its wrapper.

    "Thanks for a wonderful night," Jubilee blurts out, her voice competing with the movie. After another nervous breath, she leans in so her mouth is lingering just a breeze away from Nori's ear so she can whisper something. "Best worst first date ever.".

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko isn't sure how to interpret anything right now.  Her thoughts are bouncing around and colliding with unsubstantiated fears about how she may have just made Jubilee feel.  She just draws her knees up to her chest and awkwardly wraps her metal-wrapped arms around them.  It's not comfortable, but she feels like she deserves it somehow in that moment.

When Jubilee joins her on the bed though, like old times, Noriko unfurls and relaxes a bit, smiling again when the gap between them is bridged in a way.  Noriko takes each Tootsie Roll offered and pops them into her mouth, rapidly chewing them down.  She's starving, but there's no way she's moving.  Some of the Tootsie Rolls she hands back silently.

"You too."  After the whisper, Noriko blushes and reaches to take Jubilee's hand, metal jointed fingers flexing carefully first. "Totally."  Then she adjusts, scooting up a little to let Jubilee rest her head on her shoulder if she wishes.  She'll lean back, happily offering the more comfortable spot.

It's all she really wanted.