The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea Chapter Ten (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN
ALIVE ™, Hamster Witch, Uberbeta, Prophetic Muse and EMPRESS OF
MULTITASKING… *bounce * The muses live! InterNutter, TC, Maxwell
Pink and Dracena are loverly and squishy for archiving/hosting!
ProPhile: More smut soon. I promise! Morgan: *glomp *
Readers/Reviewers: The Killer Kitties™ liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!
Watch your toes…


Jubilee stopped short at the sight of Emma at the end of the
hallway. For one brief, flaring moment, she had hoped the older
woman had not registered her presence, but Emma's sudden turn and
beaming smile belied that idea in short order. Emma made a beeline
for her, making Jubilee feel like the proverbial deer in the
headlights. She knew the hall was open behind her but she just could
not move, staring instead at Emma's wide, brilliant smile and
determined eyes. "Hi," she squeaked before clearing her throat and
trying again. "Hi, Emma."
Emma stopped just short of her, her expression becoming
predatory. "Jubilee, dear, what are you doing for the next three
days, starting tomorrow around one pm?"
Jubilee took in Emma's appearance--one of her usual all-
white, tailored outfits tempered with scarlet nails and fine gold
jewelry. The young woman sighed. She knew without being told that
the red nails were for Banshee and the gold was because she was in
power trip mode. Even knowing Emma fly,fly, Jubilee had picked up on
the visual cuhe whe woman provided. "Depends. Why?" She folded
her arms in a mirror of Emma's posture, rocking back on her heels to
look up at the taller woman without seeming to lean back. "What do
you need me to do?"
"Now, now," Emma chided. "Is that any way to talk to your
teacher?" She smiled honestly for one moment, appreciating Jubilee's
lack of readiness to trust her. She continued in a more clipped
tone, obviously in a hurry. "I'm going to Boston to begin setting
up the new school there. I need some extra hands to help with the
mundane things like making sure the rooms are in order for the first
students arriving in the autumn and run some of the basic sims in
the new room Forge and Banshee are setting up. Think you'd be
interested? I'd consider it a summer job, of sorts, and give you
monetary compensation…” She knew the offer of money was damn nea=
r
impossible to refuse for anyone, much less a teenager who spent as
much on CDs and clothes as Jubilee did.
Jubilee narrowed her eyes, considering. The idea of some
extra spending money was enticing, mainly because she had spent her
entire allowance from the past month on an entry fee to a regional
gymnastic competition and had no money for the new CD she wanted,
but on the other hand … it was Emma. She knew there had to some
something she was not seeing, some ulterior motive on Emma's part to
offer compensation for something that would have usually been a
directive from Logan or the Professor. The thing that finally tipped
the scales in Emma's favor was Remy. Jubilee's head snapped up as
he came striding down the hall towards them, looking far too
beautiful in her mind for her to be able to have a coherent
conversation with him, which was surely what he had in mind, in the
determined set of his jaw and hard gaze meant anything. She
returned her attention to Emma as Remy stopped several feet away,
waiting his turn politely. "Okay," she shrugged. "I'll go."
Remy asked "Go where?" at the same time Emma nodded curtly,
saying, "Good. Pack your training uniform and some protective gear.
I'm not sure Forge worked all the bugs out of the sims yet.'" With
that, she turned sharply and nodded greeting to Remy, and resumed
her trek to Storm's greenhouse, the destination she had been heading
for when she saw Jubilee.
Jubilee ducked her head, suddenly finding her shoes very
interesting. "Hey," she muttered. "Well, night!"
His hand shot out and he caught her elbow as she would have
darted through the nearest door, the one leading to the first
sublevel of the basement complex. "Chere, we gotta talk `bout
earlier."
"Remy, no,"she sighed. "I'm tired, I want to go to bed and
frankly, I don't feel like discussing it. Can't we wait till in the
morning?"
He frowned. "Non. I ain't gonna be here in de mornin'. I
got a call from Belle an' she be needin' my help."
Jubilee stood stock still and stared up at him. "You're
going to New Orleans?"
"Non," he sighed. "She's comin" here. Mais I gotta go meet
her an' even den, we ain't gonna be `round a whole lot. Prollem wid
de guilds," he shrugged, purposefully nonchalant. "Mais, what you
was askin'me…

"Remy," she cut him off, one hand coming up to rest against
his chest and the other curling into a loose fist, stemming her
annoyance at the mention of the beautiful Belladonna, Remy's first,
albeit annulled, wife. "I meant it when I said I don't feel like
discussing it."
He vented a long, ragged sigh. "Jubilation, it ain't good
to be hidin" from dese tings…"
"I know," she groaned. "But I really don't know what to
say, other than I love you and good night."
Remy closed his eyes and counted to three, opening them to
find Jubilee staring at him with her clear blue eyes, earnest hope
writ large on her features. "D'accord," he capitulated. "We gonna
have to talk `bout it soon," he warned, leaning in to kiss
her. "I'll try an' be back fo' dinner tomorrow, mebbe avec Belle."
He paused to see if she would react but she just looked at him with
the same vaguely hopeful expression of a moment before. "D'accord,"
he repeated. "Bonne nuit."
Jubilee sighed as he kissed her, inhaling the scent of
tobacco and brandy and something warm and comforting. "I won't be
here then," she pointed as tas the kiss broke. "But I'll call from
Emma's, okay?"
He nodded. "Of course, cherie. I'll wait for de call den."
He kissed her again, this time almost chastely on her
forehead. "An' when you come back, we gonna have us a
talk,d'accord?"
Jubilee nodded, taking a step back. "Okay," she said as if
she were cheerful. "Sure thing."
Remy frowned as she walked off towards the bedrooms. He had
a strange feeling that something was off with Jubilee. "Las' time I
was feelin' like dis,' he murmured to himself, "was de one time I
los' at cards."