9939/One Year For the Rest of Her Life

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One Year For the Rest of Her Life
Date of Scene: 01 February 2022
Location: Jubilee's Apt - College House
Synopsis: After Jubilation and Nori get out of a particularly painful meetup for teaching people how to kill vampires, the speedster pulls the trigger early on giving Jubes a present she's spent nearly a whole human year creating. Jubilation no longer has to live like a cat in a TV box.
Cast of Characters: Noriko Ashida, Jubilation Lee




Noriko Ashida has posed:
'That could have gone better,' Noriko thinks to herself as she makes a split second decision, changing the direction of her mood completely enough to slow down and give Jubilation a little drive by kiss and a word.

It's time.

But if Nori is going to pull this off, she's not going to be able to go anywhere near the kitchens and it's important to-

WOOSH!  Noriko leaves Jubilation in her dust before they can get to the juncture that would tip Jubilation off.  Presumably, she's headed to make a pit stop at the kitchens, as she does almost every time she's heading back to their apartment.  It's become customary that Noriko does not make Jubilation watch her eat all this tasteless food.  It's only polite.  Has that led to Jubes sometimes walking in on Noriko secret eating at night by the light of the fridge?  Absolutely, but it's little stops like these that keep Nori from being a hangry bird.

The speedster is on a mission, but at this time, there are still students loitering about, those too cool for the rec room and those who might be hatching plans for the upcoming weekend, who knows what they are doing here on a Monday night, but Noriko is going so fast that she hops up on the bannister to run down it just to avoid them and the others gossiping about vampires and zombies and all manner of hullaballoo.  She snatches up someone's apple before they can take the first bite and keeps up her momentum out the front door, not even slowing down to hear the wail about effing speedsters.

By the time Noriko makes it to the barn, she's eaten half of the apple though she could have eaten it all.  She plucks the fruit from her mouth and reaches over the stall to give it to Pony, paying the love toll.  "I'll come back later," she almost whispers in a sweet voice to her friend.  Pony just ignores Noriko after the girl hops the empty stall.  Used to it by now.

Noriko throws open the door and suddenly a big lump of hay is cleared away to reveal a dark coffin.  Now comes the awkward, unplanned part.

***

Grunt.  Noriko sets the head of the coffin down on the Slippin' Slide and draaaaags it down the hall at rapid speed, bumping it against the walls of one of their neighbors.  Finally, she moves it all the way into the bedroom, not really thinking things through other than that's where it belongs, right?  How she'll get Jubes to the bedroom in the middle of the night?  That's another problem for another minute.

First?  She has to get this ugly Slippin' Slide out from under it.  Noriko thinks back to the crate she pushed out from underneath the whole stack of crates when they were helping with aid during evacuations.  Shrug, she turns and wraps the slide around her shoulders like a cape, then takes off fast...and ends up with her upper body through a cabinet in the kitchen, and out the back, and through someone's wall.

BUT IT WORKED!  The coffin is free of the Slippin' Slide and Noriko hasn't heard Jubes yet!

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    'That could've gone better,' Jubilee thinks to herself as she makes her own split second decision. She reaches out and yanks Wendy Fleeb's backpack right off her shoulders and punts it across the main foyer. It doesn't make her feel better, but at least it makes Wendy feel worse. Noriko's little kiss on her cheek is nice, but it's going to take a lot more to raise her spirits after that disaster. She gives the speedster a pretend kiss -- she curls her puckered lips to the side but doesn't actually make much of an effort to make contact -- and stares at the Crocs on her feet as she slowly makes her way back to the apartments.

    Instead of going in the main entrance of the apartments, Jubilee just makes it as far as the front steps before turning into a sad, grey mist that expands into the cold evening air. The mist floats up until it reaches their slightly open window and seeps inside. Jubilee materializes in a seated position on their couch, looking exactly as heartbroken as she did just a few moments earlier. As she plucks a leaf from her hair, Jubes notices the hole in the cabinet.

    "She must've gotten so hungry she punched a hole in the wall..." Jubilation whispers to herself. Assuming Nori's in the bedroom or bathroom, Jubes leans back against the rear padding of the couch. "I'm sorry, Nori! I guess I forgot to get you food!" she calls out.

    Jubes sits in silence for a couple minutes, unsure of what to do with herself. Finally, she bends forward and pulls one of those hideous Crocs from her feet and stares at it. Suddenly, Jubilee screams and hurls it across the room, embedding it in the drywall.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko was too wrapped up in her racing thoughts to calculate whether she had enough time to pull this off to really take in Jubilation's make believe kiss, but she didn't have to experience it to know that's what she was going to get.

The speedster's calculations must have been off.  Maybe she used the wrong ones, but the fact that she's questioning it would tell her it wouldn't matter if she used the right ones...it was definitely too weak of a guess.  Would if Noriko were not so dazed.  Her eyes shoot open and she looks around at where she ended up, in a pile of wood and counter of Rahne's kitchen.

Ugh.  Noriko just groans and decides she has enough time to lay there and shut her eyes.  The scream has Noriko stumbling to her feet and racing out of unfamiliar apartment yank at the doorknob to the apartment supposed to be labeled 02.  Locked.  She locked it.  Her keys are inside.  Something hits the wall...hard and doesn't fall.  A burst of lightning sprays out from the wrist of her gauntlet and arcs up her arm  like a breaking wave splashing into her shoulders as the door is yanked, pulling the door frame partially out.

Nori drops the doorknob as she smashes through the remainder of the door and its splinters with her shoulder. She says nothing, breathing heavily through the relief of seeing Jubilation in one piece seizes her.  Deja vu much?

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "...Wow, she really hates that door..." Jubilee mutters to herself after staring at Noriko for a solid couple of seconds. One side of her mouth curls upwards. No sense letting a broken door make this evening any worse. A sigh of reserved air escapes Jubilee's nose as she stands up and makes her way over to Nori, limping a little as one foot is in a Croc and the other is not. She reaches out with both hands and straightens Noriko's shirt collar and then brushes her off a little. "Could've knocked..." she teases gently. Jubes turns and heads back to the couch, taking that private second to slowly blink once and smile a little. Something thumped -- it was a shoe but it could've been her -- and Nori just Kool-Aid'd through the door. Her heroine.

    Jubilee flops back down onto the couch and leans back so she can stare up at the ceiling. It's all on her face. In her posture. She's not happy with how that meeting went.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
OH YEAH!  Nori would have said if she had any sense of humor in her right now.

Noriko's lips quirk up into a sheepish grin for a split second before she blurry-pads over to sit on the couch next to Jubes.  "Yeah."  Yeah she could've knocked.  Yeah that meeting sucked.  She doesn't need the amulet to feel the reverberations of Jubilation's emotions, but it does gently tether her.  Her thoughts do not dance away.  She stays present.  She leans forward to unlatch one gauntlet, then the other.  Gauntlets shed, the speedster draws her leg up so she can worm her foot behind Jubilation and scoot in behind her all rather slowly to wrap the vampire up in her arms.  She buries her face in the forest of dark locks and against cool skin peeking through like the moon's rays.

"We won't be ready," and maybe they deserve what they get.  A streak of guilt runs through her, the only palpable evidence she's had that she considered them her kind.  Nori doesn't know when it happened, but shame blossoms when she gets and inkling of its nature.  "I'm sorry."  That she feels she has to apologize for 'them' just feeds a weed sprouting between who they are, what they are, one planted beneath the very foundation of their being.

Seeing the croc embedded in the wall, Nori idly says, "I bet we could sell a photo of that for a fortune."  Does it matter?  No.  Will it matter after they are all dead?  Making it obviously just a lower function of Nori's mind to just...think of how they can make their next quick buck, like breathing.  Something between breathes.  "They will think you did this.  You are the only vampire here.  They will come for your head and will destroy everyone and everything that gets in their way," she says as she stares at the 'Found' croc art.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Yes you will," Jubilee gently replies. She tilts her head a little so she can rest her cheek bone against the top of Noriko's forehead. "It will be fine, Nori. You'll see..." Jubes stares forward, though, at the bit of wall with the shoe sticking out.

    "It will be fine."

    Jubilation's eyes wander to the door for a moment and her mouth just blurts it out. "...I wonder which of them will be coming in here later," she says softly. So sure that at least one of them will try to come in and apply what they've learned at the meeting.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I should setup some security," which probably means a bunch of things tied to strings and fishing line.  Noriko just mumbles against Jubilation without budging.  "And fix the door."  She'll figured it out.  DID YOU SEE THAT COFFIN?!  Oh yeah, that's right.

"We need to figure out what's going on with Bobby.  We need him for the fight...If you had to bet, who do you think?-Wait, can we move somewhere more comfortable?"  Noriko has held this position quite awhile (for her at least).

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Oh, yeah, we should totally Home Alone this whole place," Jubilation agrees, even smiling a bit. "Anyone who tries to get in will get a Macaulay Culkin right across the face!" The smile extends a bit, thinking about a paint can hitting Emma Frost right in the face.

    "I told Bobby I'd do the thing..." she says softly. Jubilee clearly doesn't want to do it -- doesn't even want to /say/ it -- but... there it is. She agreed to it and that's that. There could be more to say, but, then Jubes closes her eyes and gently shakes her head. Go somewhere more comfortable?

    "Oh, Nori," Jubilee gently complains. "I'm not in the mood..." But, the thought gets planted like a seed. And then the smell of Noriko's hair, the bits of her neck and clavicle that peek out of her shirt, the warmth of her body... The seed that was planted has started to grow.

    "Okay," Jubilation says and then moves to get up. Don't need to pull her arm for this! "But I want to cuddle afterwards. Five minutes and you get a pudding." Five minutes can be an eternity for a speedster. But... pudding. She starts heading for the bedroom.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"You should make it a test.  Maybe we can get someone to provide...incentive."  Which is like pointing a big giant sign that says 'SKIM' in electric lights to these two.  "Can you be anymore obscure...thing?"  Noriko may have ideas, but she's hardly about to go play fill in the blank.  "You know how to cure him?"

A smile forms at Nori's lips when Jubilation finally gives in and only then does the speedster pull away...even if it just seems like Jubes and Nori are operating off of the same synapses.  Contagious synapses.  Nori's eyes widen at the thought of Jubes trotting off to get her pudding...in bed.  "Yes."

The speedster hops up and swiftly walks to sweep Jubilation up off of her feet.  Too excited!  Couldn't wait any longer.  She stops at the threshold with Jubilation in her arms, beaming as she watches for Jubilation's reaction.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Yeah... You know, the thing," she replies uncomfortably. "Get rid of his holes..." The prospect of doing that is clearly not high on the list of things she wants to do, but, no one seemed too pleased at her hesitation about it. Surely Noriko had to know why /she/ never seemed to have bite marks. Clemencia left them on Bobby. But why? Could she not heal them? Or did she choose not to? So many questions.

    This is what happens, people, when you live together. Instead of slinky outfits, candles, and soft music, it's a single Croc, a bare foot, and flannel pajama pants. Jubilee clops her way down the hall and then... she's up in the air, laughing! Jubes closes her eyes and opens her mouth, almost on instinct, and smiles the kind of smile that hasn't been seen on her face in a little while. How could anything bother her?

    "Two puddings!" she declares, laughing happily. And then her eyes open. And then she sees it. Her smile slowly fades. She just /stares/ at it -- the coffin that has been placed in their bedroom. "....Three puddings..." she whispers.

    Stunned, Jubilee squirms a little so Noriko knows she wants to be put down. She needs to run over there...

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Nori's about to ask if Jubilation thinks that will bring back his powers, what if closing up the holes is like putting something stained in the dryer and it makes everything stick?!  But between Noriko's excitement and impatience, there isn't enough time to spit it out...well not at a speed that Jubes would understand.

"Is that like two puddings one trip or separate?" the speedster inquires after the declaration of two puddings.  She grins at the whisper, soaking all of it up.  Jubes feet hit the floor so quickly after she starts the squirm it's as precise as if she thought to move herself.

For once, Noriko just stands looking on a little smug.  She doesn't want to rush this.  It's been nearly a year since she had the idea, something she thought would take no time at all actually took much much more...dedication.  Since she had to actually get good at it.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    OOC Note: There is an item called 'coffin' in this room and this is its description:


Here is a coffin made for 1.5 people, kind of like small two person sleeping bags. Underneath it are a series of drawers that slide out for personal items, clothing, or anything else. It is stained black, but not lacquered. The grain really shows in the almost gray trim that sets it off and the exterior is nothing if not stylish, modern, and nothing someone would be buried in. The interior is padded with memory foam and down feathers, lined with some kind of velvety midnight black fabric, sparsely speckled with white as if to lightly evoke the night sky.

The lid is the most intricate part. Inside, there are carved places where Noriko has put pictures of her and Jubilation. There's even a spot for the Target family further down, but the reliefs carved into the wood tell their story as if it were some ancient history preserved in wood. Crudely carved in the lip of the lid where it fits into the bottom are the words, 'No matter what.'

Those with woodworking experience would notice that everything is hand-carved, even the parts Noriko tried to get to /not/ look that way.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Two puddings, one trip. Two puddings, two trips. Who cares? As soon as she's back on the ground, Jubes gives her foot a shake, sending her last remaining Croc off to parts unknown. She approaches the coffin with short, rapid steps, like a child on Christmas morning. At first, she's silent, staring down at it, covering her mouth with both sets of fingers. Maybe she'll rip it open, get inside, poke and point at all of the details, the photos, wiggle the drawers, feel the wood grain. Maybe she'll take it for a test spin and immediately go to sleep.

    Jubilee does none of that. The silence continues for several, long seconds. The only indication that Jubilation is actually present and not some statue is that her hands eventually lower down to her sides. She turns to face Noriko and stares at her.

    Jubilation's mouth is hanging open just slightly and her stare is intense and oppressive. She's blinking a little more than usual, as though she had a piece of sawdust in her eye even though she doesn't. Nope. She's just overwhelmed.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Overwhelmed can be a difficult emotion to parse and right now Noriko really responds to intensity variations of their afforded emotional connection.  It's like trying to tease out threads of a tapestry that one doesn't know how to read even at a most basic level, and those are woven into one's own tapestry, sometimes with indistinguishable thread.

So Noriko was expecting all of the little reactions, but when none of them come, her smugness shifts to give way to concern stoked by that small doubt that maybe Jubes just, it's not to her taste, even if she appreciates the sentiment.  "The wall of the foot of the coffin actually has-"  Noriko just dashes to there to show Jubes that it is hinged on the top, only evident when she just reaches out for a low profile handle and lifts it up.  "I've got lots of ideas but-"  they weren't as important as giving Jubes the present /now/.  "So I was thinking, maybe make something that can hold a tablet inside for watching, and maybe some sensors security related and maybe more than a few daylight sensors in case part of it is in shadow and part of it isn't and a door hole thing viewer thing or a tiny camera so you can see out.  Also, I want to see if I can create a backdoor.  So you can fall out of the bottom if there is anyone coming to attack you...or maybe just a panic mode.  I don't know."  Noriko is...obviously excited, nervous, and all of these things buzz along their emotional wire quite clearly and quickly.

"Um, yeah, lots of ideas.  Like, maybe make this door magnetic, given it flaps on the side to block sunlight in case you need a low tech way to check for sunlight....yeah."  Noriko flushes fast, acutely aware that she just telegraphed how nervous she is, along with her vibrating hands.  She is not a girl who willingly places herself in a vulnerable position to be judged, given all of the judgement she's received throughout her life.  The act of sharing something she has created, after putting so much time and effort and heart into it, well Noriko didn't expect it to be so difficult, so scary, and the experience seizes her.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Some of Noriko's comments end up pulling Jubilee's attention back to the coffin, watching as she fiddles with it. She still hasn't said anything, instead just letting Noriko go on and get it all out. Why hasn't Jubilee said anything? Why hasn't she jumped in that thing and made some joke about needing to fill it with gas if they're going to take it for a spin? She's uncharacteristically quiet.

    Once Noriko finishes speeding through her nerves, Jubilee suddenly runs towards her and throws her arms around her. She buries her face into the girl's hair and pulls her close. She doesn't say anything, not yet, but there is a sound coming from her. It's not quite a cry, it's not quite a sob, but she's shuddering a bit, overcome with emotion.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
For a moment, the speedster looks like a deer in headlights.  No more words are coming out and suddenly Jubes is moving toward her, so she just waits like she does so often, to see what comes of the motion of the moment.  It's a habit that is quickly shed for instinct as she reaches to receive Jubilation, just knowing a hug is coming, just wanting that embrace.

Noriko holds Jubilation firmly, ignoring the fact that her hands are still vibrating with kinetic energy and low voltage.  She doesn't say anything.  She closes her eyes and sinks into the moment, into the whirl of emotions tangling between them.

The lights in their apartment flicker and all plugged in appliance clocks reset.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "...I don't know what to say," Jubilation whispers, resting her chin on Noriko's shoulder. She stares forward, wide-eyed. "...I, I can't believe you did this for me." Her hold on the speedster tightens a little and doesn't show any signs of letting up. Jubes closes her eyes so she can bury them in Nori's hair again. "Thank you," she whispers. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." One of her hands comes up and rests against the back of Nori's hair.

    "I don't know how I'm going to repay you for this."

    It's a coffin. Essentially a wooden box. But, that's not what has Jubilee all topsy-turvy. And she certainly doesn't notice anything about the lights and appliances.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
And Noriko knows.  She knows that its distinct lack of bells and whistles, the fact that it's a box, with a lid, and a little podunk hatch at the foot of it, that doesn't matter.  She doesn't need any confirmation.  The speedster didn't engineer the meaning or significance for some particular purpose; it's something she would have thrown herself into for Jubes just because she loves her.  The fact that Jubes first birthday and Valentine's is coming up is simply convenient for making her not seem /too/ crazy.

This is something Noriko wanted to last and hopefully, with care, last beyond her.  The thought of Jubes having something to remember them brings her a shred of comfort, of security for Jubes' psyche, maybe, even if she hasn't deliberately thought of it.

They both might notice there /is/ no light inside the coffin when they first try it out though.

"It's a gift."  Noriko could easily crack a licentious joke to convey accepted payments.  But repayment isn't expected.  It isn't desired.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Yeah, yeah, I know, but..."

    Jubilee just sighs softly and gives Noriko another squeeze. "I think you know what this means to me," she whispers. Of course she does. How could she not? A lot has happened in these last few days and, undoubtedly, Noriko has had a chance to see what Jubilee has seen all along. People treat her differently now. Noriko doesn't. When Jubilee was turned, the school moved her to a new bed. Noriko built her a coffin.

    "Are you sure you don't mind?" Jubilee asks, pulling away a little to look at the speedster. She's undoutedly asking 'are you sure you don't mind if we sleep in a coffin?' The thought that Nori would share it with her is one that Jubilee takes as absolute fact.

    "I mean, we could alternate, like, bed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Coffin on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Sundays we can fight about..." Jubes cracks a small smile.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"When you sleep more soundly, I do."  Which is, actually even more true now since Noriko /never/ takes off her amulet.  "I think switching off will just make it harder for the both of us."  It's not that the bed doesn't have its uses...guests, extra curricular activities.  "We need to break this in and tweak it."  Nori might actually have to redesign the bedding and how that all works.  It's not like she's had opportunities to sleep in this thing or any to get Jubes' opinion.

"I built this for both of us..."  Noriko pulls Jubes along with her so they don't break contact, shifting to point to the lid jam where she sloppily penciled in the words yet to be carved:

'No matter what'

Left un-carved like a signature waiting to finish a work of art, a signal of ownership, the last little bit of work to be done...together.