Disclaimer: I think it's obvious I don't own anything.

Author's Notes: My first and probably only ever x-movie fanfic. I'm not sure where the idea for this story came from, but somehow it ended up flowing out of my fingers and onto my keyboard. This story reflects on the severe lack of Wolverine and Jubilee dynamic in the movie series and takes place post-Last Stand.

Runaway
a fanfic by conart

Wolverine's Quarters
Thursday, May 17th, 6:45am

Mornings were already painful enough for Logan. He wasn't a good sleeper to begin with, what with haunting memories dwelling his subconscious during sleep. So it didn't help that when he finally did get a few hours of peaceful rest, his alarm clock went blaring off. He pried a grumpy eye open and checked the digits on the clock and released a low growl as though the inanimate contraption would become intimidated and shut itself off. Needless to say, he was disappointed with the results.

With a heavy sigh, he groped his way out of bed and began to get dressed, troubled thoughts still swarming his conscious. Since he'd returned to the mansion, he'd kept busy. He had to in order to survive life living on the same floor that was once her bedroom. Jean, the redhead who had inadvertently captured his heart, now haunted his every waking moment, and these days quite often his sleeping moments as well.

This morning Logan and Storm had a training session scheduled with one of the junior members of the team. He couldn't remember which kid was on the schedule for today; there were just so many of them that he was beginning to lose count. He supposed the recent promotions were in an effort to make up for the good portion of the team they'd lost not long ago.

His heart lurched at the thought.

In an effort to get her out of his mind, he charged briskly down the hallway when someone rounded the corner unexpectedly.

"Oomph!" came a high-pitched feminine cry upon impact.

A tiny whir of neon colors slammed into him suddenly, knocking him off balance and disrupting his thoughts. He'd been so distracted by his ritualistic mourning that he hadn't detected anyone coming.

Logan looked down to see who had bumped into him and instantly recognized the offensive cannonball at his feet: sixteen-year-old Jubilation Lee, who was currently braving him with her biggest scowl. He noted that she was donned in her uniform, and he realized immediately that his training session must be with her. Jubilee's trademark pink-framed sunglasses with reflective lenses nestled comfortably atop her head, clashing miserably with her leatherwear. Oh, how he hated those shades.

The young girl who sat before him had always been a strange mystery in his eyes. The number one reason was that every other student at this Academy cowered instantly under his glare. Jubilee, however, remained positively unwavering in his presence. He took an inadvertent sniff, and to his dismay, he could detect no sign of concern.

He let out a low intimidating growl as a warning, and she had the nerve to roll her eyes in response.

"Watch where you're going, Wolvie," she said, emphasizing her pet name for him. She knew it drove him mad. It did. It always did.

She winked and stuck her tongue out at him before pulling her shades down to cover her sapphire eyes. She stood and dusted her uniform off casually before taking off down the stairs without another word.

Logan was left standing there for a few moments, recovering from yet another encounter with the young girl.

Something about her had him perplexed, mesmerized even. She was like a puzzle he couldn't figure out. He didn't necessarily like her, but he far from hated her. He had a small amount of respect for her from the beginning, as she'd been more than welcoming to Marie when his young charge had first joined the school. But despite that teensy tiny bit of respect, the rest of him felt rather disturbed by her mere presence. Jubilee was certainly one of the more popular and very well-liked students here, something that had been obvious from the moment he'd stepped foot in the mansion. And despite being smaller and slightly younger than the other junior members, who were all at least eighteen years of age, she had earned her place among the ranks at only sixteen.

She and Logan were opposites, a fact that hadn't gone unnoticed by many of the staff. Jubilee was an extrovert; she was loud and obnoxious in every aspect where he wasn't.

But perhaps the most compelling thing about her that struck him was the simple fact that Jubilee annoyed the shit out of him. She popped gum everywhere she went and, despite all common logic, wore shades almost 24/7. Even at night. It irked him the same way Cyclops used to when he was still alive. He didn't like being unable to see a person's eyes. At least the ol' prick had an excuse; Jubilee voluntarily hid her eyes all the time.

From time to time, he would feel her little blue sapphires on him, scrutinizing and penetrating. It unnerved him. The first time he caught her staring at him happened to also be the first time he'd eaten in the student cafeteria. She was merely thirteen years old then, scrawny but confident. He had thrown her a defensive growl upon discovery, but she had simply winked in that Jubilee-esque fashion and brought down those atrocious shades, completely unabashed or ashamed at the obvious intrusion of privacy. Now, after everything that had happened in the past several years, he still found her eyes glued to him from time to time. He hated it.

She had taken to giving him a pet name, Wolvie. He shuddered. It was an insult to feminize his call sign, and despite numerous violent threats she wouldn't stop. He knew that the angrier he became about it, the more joy she got out of the twisted nickname. It was infuriating. Storm thought it was cute. Beast theorized that she was merely trying to be affectionate. Nightcrawler suggested that it could somehow be a compliment. But Logan knew better; she only did it to piss him off. And it worked, dammit.

He realized that with every second he stood there dumbfounded and thinking about her was another second that she had won. Huffing and growling at the thought, he resigned to head downstairs to the Danger Room.

The Danger Room
Thursday, May 7th, 7:01am

When he finally arrived to the Danger Room's Control Center, Ororo Monroe was already there.

"Good morning, Logan," she greeted politely.

He nodded curtly at her. He looked down into the arena from their safety perch and saw that Jubilee was already inside, stretching. He couldn't suppress an annoyed growl at the sight of her.

"What's with that kid?" Logan inquired to Storm, meaning his question as an insult toward the petite Asian who was now performing a series of twists and turns he'd never witnessed on someone so young.

Ororo eyed him momentarily, and Logan got the feeling she was feeling hesitant about letting him in on some great secret. "I'm not sure what you mean," she finally replied.

"She's an asshole," he declared as though it were obvious.

Ororo smiled as though laughing inwardly, wondering what Jubilee had done to befuddle him this time.

"Ain't funny," Logan said as he narrowed his eyes at the woman before her. "Why's she got such a problem with me?"

Her face became serious as soon as he asked that question. "She doesn't," she said simply.

"She's always starin' at me," Logan explained, irritated. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

"She's merely curious," Ororo explained hesitantly. Logan didn't buy her explanation. "Just leave her be."

"She's the one who can't leave me alone," he muttered. He found himself curious about her yet again. "What's her story again?" he asked. He knew it'd been explained to him several times before in the past couple years, but before now he never really cared to hear it.

"Jubilation is one of our… special cases," Ororo said vaguely after a great pause.

"The hell does that mean?" he asked.

"She was on her way to becoming a world-class gymnast long before she arrived at Xavier's," Ororo explained.

Logan felt more impressed than surprised at the news, and nodded in reluctant appreciation as Jubilee executed a series of flips. "How'd she end up here?"

She paused and looked at him suspiciously. "Logan, I was under the impression that you weren't very fond of her to begin with. Why the sudden interest?"

Logan grunted awkwardly, grasping for a logical reason. Finally, he said, "She's gonna graduate from the juniors an' join this team someday, right? As a field leader, why shouldn't I be curious?"

Ororo smiled suddenly at him, and he felt quite like a child who was being protected from some terrible truth. Finally, after what seemed like much speculation she said, "I don't want you to worry about Jubilee. Like you, she's a rather private individual when it comes to her past, and we try to respect her wishes. As her future field leader, I ask that you simply trust in her abilities, and in return she will never let you down."

Logan frowned at Ororo's obviously rehearsed explanation. Nevertheless, he trusted her judgment the most out of any other senior member, and he left the matter alone so they could begin their training session.

Wolverine's Quarters
Monday, June 25th, 2:49am

Another chilling nightmare had roused him from would-be slumber. Perspiration had dampened his white wife beater, and the memory of Jean's death haunted him once again. He took a ragged breath and growled at his own vulnerability. He felt the illogical need to toughen himself up. Normally, he'd spend hours pumping iron in the weight room downstairs. But tonight, he wanted a cold beer. Yes, beer would undoubtedly help. Beer always helps. Beer had never let him down, after all. He got out of bed, threw open his bedroom door and stepped into the hallway with a purpose.

He stopped instantly, and his body went rigid as soon as he caught her scent. Jubilee had been here recently. It wasn't completely unexpected, he thought to himself. Since the summer holidays had begun, Ororo had moved the teenager from the dorms to the faculty quarters under the premise that she wouldn't be alone downstairs. To Logan's dismay, however, she'd been placed in Scott and Jean's old room.

Nevertheless, he was mostly accustomed to her smell roaming the hallway just outside his door. Just not this fresh or so late at night.

He hadn't dwelled on the girl much in the last couple months since Ororo had asked him to leave the teenager to her privacy. Several one-on-one and group training sessions had taken place since May, and he found that outside of training he was still quite keen to avoid her when possible. He had enough on his shoulders after all without having to deal with her snippy attitude.

However, it was now nearing three o'clock in the morning, and he hadn't expected an encounter with his live-in nemesis so late at night. Her scent was still fresh; she'd passed his door not ten minutes ago. It was one thing to deal with her obnoxious demeanor in the daytime, but he would not let her throw his world off balance at night when he was less prepared and sleep deprived.

Not wanting to run into the little punk, he was about to retreat back into his bedroom when he caught a familiar chemical mixed in with her scent. It was a mixture of something he didn't think he'd ever detected from her. It was a cross between sadness, anger, and hatred. He took a deeper sniff… and tears.

He sighed. It wasn't his business. It really wasn't. He thought of Ororo and how she'd asked him to keep from prying about Jubilee's personal life.

But for the second time since he'd come back to the mansion, he was far too curious to let it go. These types of hormones and chemicals were something he never thought he'd detect from the supposed happy-go-lucky punk. Something had to be really off to cause this.

After a few seconds of more hesitation, he resigned to follow her scent downstairs. He crept down the darkness of the back staircase, and several minutes later he was led to the kitchen. He stopped at the doorway. Dim light flooded from the corner of the kitchen, and he peered through the doorway cautiously. He took a whiff. The smell of burnt toast hung heavily in the air.

She was sitting on a stool at the far counter with her back facing him. Her shoulders were drooped in a manner he'd never seen on her normally confident stature before. Suddenly, he was aware that there was more to this girl than bubble gum, shades, and a history of professional gymnastics. He was by no means an empath, but felt for the first time that there may actually be someone else in this mansion that may have experienced a loss as severe as he had. He resolved to leave her be. After all, he himself preferred to brood on his own.

But before he could creep away, he heard her heart rate shift its pace, and her head cocked slightly.

He cursed inwardly, knowing instantly that she'd detected his presence. He cleared his throat.

"How'd you know I was here?" he asked gruffly.

She turned in her stool to face him, eyeing him with her blue orbs and casting a half smirk. He was pleased to see that she didn't don the atrocious shades that normally sat atop her head. "I can smell you," she said simply.

He was relieved to see that she had already stopped crying. Whatever tears she'd had recently had been wiped dry, and only the slight puffiness of her eyes gave way to her secret. He entered the kitchen and made his way over to her, making no acknowledgment toward her sadness. "Thought I was the only one with a super sniffer," he grunted, peering down at her flimsy piece of toast.

She scoffed. "Don't need a super sniffer to smell your stanky ass from all the way across the mansion."

He frowned at the insult and considered leaving her there in her misery.

Before he could retort she continued in a matter-of-fact tone, "You smoke cigars all the time. And when you spend more than ten minutes in a room, you leave a scent of old leather."

He cocked an eyebrow at her intuitiveness. "You memorized how I smell?" he inquired, unsure if he felt flattered or appalled.

"Didn't do it on purpose," she explained with a shrug, tearing her gaze from him and down at her burnt toast. "I remember a lot of little things about people. You know, how they smell, what perfume they wear, the sound of their footsteps…" She trailed off, deep in thought.

"That what got you up so late, kid? Memories?" Logan asked, suddenly feeling sorry for her. He, too, had an inexplicable tendency to memorize habits and traits of those he lost.

She looked up at him with a wry smile. "What do you care, Wolvie? You hate me, remember?"

She'd used that nickname to piss him off again, a clever tactic for a defense mechanism. He tried to ignore the boiling annoyance. "Don't hate ya," he managed.

She rolled her eyes when he said it, and he suddenly felt the urge to gouge them out for her.

"Just think you're an annoying pain in my ass," he explained, trying very hard to sound nice. Whatever that is. "But you're useful in the field, and you were real good to Marie when she first got here."

"Why wouldn't I be nice to Marie?" Jubilee peered at him, looking offended by his words.

He was taken aback by her response. "Sheesh, didn't mean it as a bad thing," he said defensively.

"Oh," Jubilee replied dully.

He noted she made no move to apologize, but sat there staring at her uneaten toast thoughtfully. That pure Jubilee-full annoyance welled up inside of him again. He rolled his eyes and made his way over to the fridge for a beer. If he was going to counsel the kid, he may as well be buzzed doing it.

He pulled a cold German Pilsner out and popped the top off with a claw. It fell to the ground noisily. He took a very long and greedy gulp.

"Why're you here anyway?" he asked gruffly after wiping his face with a hairy forearm. "At the mansion, I mean. Most o' the kids have gone home for summer or run off visiting friends. Hell, even Marie went to visit IcePrick's family now that they've lightened up about the whole mutie deal."

She gave him a funny look as though the answer were obvious. There it was again: the feeling that everyone knew something obvious that he didn't.

After seeming to decide his question was legit, Jubilee gestured all around her with toast in hand and said, "This is my home, dude. And I don't have friends outside the people who live at this school. There's nowhere else to go."

Suddenly, he felt stupid. He had known that in the back of his mind, and he wasn't sure why it didn't occur to him that she didn't have anyone to visit. Perhaps it was because she seemed better well-adjusted than the other orphans here. She didn't need doting on. Thinking back, he realized that she usually did the caring for others.

Her eyes shifted unexpectedly to something behind him. He swore inwardly, realizing he'd been so focused on Jubilee he was unable to detect Ororo's approach. The woman stood there in a white robe and slippers, her expression when she looked at him surprisingly reproachful. He felt offended by her obvious dismay. She turned to speak to Jubilee instead.

"Jubilation," Ororo offered gently to the girl, "why don't you head upstairs and I'll bring some cocoa up for us?"

Logan noted that Jubilee looked very uncomfortable at the suggestion. "No, thank you, Miss Monroe," she replied quietly as she hopped off of the stool, making no eye contact with either adult. "I think I can sleep now, so don't worry. I'll see you in the morning for our training session."

She walked briskly out of the kitchen before either of them could respond.

"All right, dear," Ororo replied sadly even though Jubilee was long gone. Logan noted the distress in Ororo's voice. She turned to Logan, who peered at her suspiciously.

Again, he could tell she was hiding something from him. "What exactly was that about?" he asked, nodding toward where Jubilee had left.

Ororo cleared her throat and hugged her chest. "Cocoa was a small comfort Jubilation had at some point. On nights when she had trouble sleeping, Jean stayed up with her. Since Jean passed…" She trailed off.

Logan looked away and took a very generous gulp of beer at the mention of the redhead's name. He cleared his throat. "I meant that you don't want me talkin' to her. It's obvious. Why?" His question came out quite like a harsh demand, and he almost regretted it until Ororo spoke again.

"Logan," she replied, sounding quite like a mother explaining something to a toddler, "I don't want you to bother the child. Jubilee is special-"

He scoffed, in the same manner Jubilee usually did, feeling offended. "I wasn't botherin' her," he explained, "I just came down for a damn beer. Now what in the hell aren't you tellin' me about that kid? Why do you only tell me to stay away from her? You've got no reason to tell Hank or Kurt to stay away, so why me?"

She sighed, suddenly looking older than she really was. Logan realized in that moment the woman before him cared very deeply for Jubilee. It shocked him, since he'd assumed that Kitty Pryde had always been her favorite. "You trust me, right Logan?" she asked, for the second time in two months.

"O'course," he replied with a frown. "I just don't understand why you can't-"

"I've told you already," Ororo interrupted pleadingly, her grey eyes boring desperately into his. "Jubilation is a very special case, and I don't want to disrupt the progress Charles and Jean made with her. She's come so far from where we found her on the streets. I don't want to push her over the edge after everything that's happened."

Logan stared at her. Why hadn't he known that Jubilee was one of Jean's students? He assumed every kid here was a student of hers. Why had he not known that Jubilee was special to Jean? Did it not seem that this should be a detail he should've noted after pursuing the woman? Despite the ache of not knowing this tiny detail about the woman he loved, he refused to vocalize his pain. Instead, he cleared his throat and his own defense mechanism kicked in, accusing her viciously, "And you think you're doin' a better job offerin' her cocoa she obviously doesn't want, over me askin' a few simple questions?"

He regretted his words instantly at the taken aback look on the normally calm woman's face. Her lips pursed tightly and she eyed him disdainfully before she bid him, "Good night, Logan."

Without another word, she disappeared from the doorway. He could hear her footsteps fading.

Great. Just what he needed. To push away the closest friend he had here. God, he needed more beer.

The Academy Courtyard
Tuesday, July 3rd, 10:24pm

It was a relatively still night in the private courtyard garden behind the school. Logan liked it out here, though only after the sun had set. It seemed that many of the students enjoyed daylight out here, and he wasn't too interested in sharing the courtyard with anyone under twenty-one. Night time out here was what he considered adult time. He lit a cigarette and took a satisfying puff as he was no longer 'permitted' to smoke inside. Not that the rule stopped him from time to time. He inhaled the night air, where the freshness clashed with the polluted smoke from his cigarette. He loved it. Being alone, smoking his cigarettes without anyone pestering him. He needed this.

Ororo's words from last week had haunted him since. Not so much about Jubilee herself, but the fact that she had been special to Jean. Logan frowned, thinking. What else had he not known about his love? He couldn't explain the severe jealousy at the thought of her affection for anyone other than himself, let alone Cyclops and Jubilee.

As a train of thought, he found himself thinking about Jubilee, which happened more often since that night. Despite Ororo's clear disapproval, he wanted to know Jubilee's story. He was torn between respecting Ororo's wishes and satisfying his own curiosity. He had to admit that things were strained between him and the elegant Storm since their disagreeable nighttime encounter.

He heard a distinct "Ahem!" from somewhere above and behind him. He turned and frowned at the small silhouette perched in a tree. He realized Jubilee had been downwind from him. No wonder he hadn't detected her. How long had she been up there? Surely it had been long before he arrived, as he hadn't heard any movement.

She swung herself down from branch to branch toward him.

"You just love avoidin' people, don't ya?" Jubilee's voice rang teasingly as she dropped down onto the ground before him. She seemed to find his discomfort amusing.

"What makes you say that?" he asked after he took a long drag of his cigarette.

"Don't think I haven't noticed you scurrying off every time I enter a room," she accused, arms crossed. "An' you've been doing the same thing to Miss Monroe. What'd she do that's got your panties in a bunch?"

"Don't know what you're talkin' about, kid," Logan replied, denying the obvious.

"Well, how come you been avoidin' me then? I know you hate me, but you've never gone so far out of your way to-"

He cut her off abruptly. "I don't hate you," he said firmly. It came out harsher than he'd intended.

She looked up at him disbelievingly again. He realized that she honestly did believe that he hated her, and she was actually okay with it. That disturbed him.

He stared at her before shaking his head and saying, "I don't get you, kid. I really don't."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "What's not to get?"

"Let's see," Logan began. "You got a lot going for you. You're smart, athletic, not bad lookin' for a shrimp, just about every snot-nosed kid in the student body thinks you're some sort of comic-book hero, and you've got a staff of teachers who care about ya. And despite all of this, you spend every night wandering off somewhere in the mansion or on the grounds as though none of it meant anything."

"Aw, you don't know nothin'," she replied with a harsh tone. "Everything ain't how it looks. You don't know what I've been through, or anyone else here."

"Lemme tell ya, kid," he pointed a determined finger in her face in an attempt to school her on life, "Everyone at this mansion has baggage. Everyone here has parents or family that didn't want 'em because of somethin' in our DNA. Everyone here has pain. You think you're the only one whose parents ditched ya-?"

"They didn't ditch me," she interrupted defiantly. The severity of her tone startled him. She shook her head angrily and subconsciously hugged herself in the moonlight. "Don't you talk bad about my parents!" she spat venomously. Her tone softened. "They wanted me. But they died, murdered actually. And then it didn't matter whether they wanted me or not, because they were gone."

He looked away guiltily when she wiped her eyes furiously with a sleeve. He realized in that moment that his assumptions about the girl before him might be wrong. He sat back down on the garden bench and patted the space next to him, inviting her to continue.

She hesitated before she plopped down, arms still crossed and blue eyes blazing angrily. "Miss Monroe says I shouldn't tell you any of this," she said as she shook her head and sniffled.

"And why not?" Logan growled, feeling anger toward the Storm goddess who had forbade him to speak to Jubilee.

"Because," Jubilee said accusingly, "she says you'll run away again, like you always do. And she's right. You'll ditch the team, you'll ditch Marie, and you'll ditch me, because you won't want to look at my face ever again."

"Why would anything you have to say make me want to up and leave?" he asked.

She didn't reply, but tore her gaze away from him and upward at the skies.

"I ain't gonna leave," he said. He mimicked her, crossing his arms staring up at the stars. "No matter what you say, I ain't leavin'. I've made my peace with the world outside these gates, and my place is here now. At the mansion and with this team."

She bit her lip, and he smelled the salt of disbelieving tears.

"After my parents died, I was going to be adopted," she explained quietly after several long seconds.

He frowned. What the hell did that have to do with him? Nevertheless, his curiosity forced him to purge on. "But you weren't?" he asked.

She shook her head, eyes unfocusing in the distance. "They were too nice anyway. I wouldn't have deserved to call 'em Mom and Dad if they had taken me."

Logan wrinkled his nose. The kid reeked of self-hatred again. He growled suddenly, unsure of why he felt the need to defend her. "If they didn't take ya when they had the chance," he said, "Then they're the ones who didn't deserve you."

He was surprised when she laughed harshly at his words. He raised an eyebrow at her. "What?" he demanded, sure that whatever had made her laugh wasn't actually funny in the least.

She peered at him, blue eyes hardened, and explained, "That's not why they didn't adopt me."

"So why then?" Logan asked.

She laughed again, heart hardened, and tears forming. When her laughter faded, it was quiet and uncomfortable. Logan shifted awkwardly, but waited stiffly for her to continue.

Jubilee sighed, eyes seeming to shut at the memory of what happened. "They were almost ready to draw up the paperwork to keep me. But then they started fighting, you know?"

"Oh?"

She nodded, kicking the dirt. "She had a wandering eye temporarily, and he… didn't appreciate it. Said they couldn't take in a kid if they didn't first learn how to care of themselves. I wasn't mad or anything; I understood. I could wait until they figured stuff out if that's what it took. It put a huge strain on their marriage." She paused before finishing. "To be honest, I would've waited forever if they asked."

"They never got over it then?" he inquired.

"No, they did," she said. As if lost in a memory, her lips curled into a real, genuine smile and continued, "They worked out their problems after a long haul, and were able to put everything behind them. They were so excited when they told me they were going to finalize the adoption. They were gonna throw me a party an' everything."

Her smile faded as quickly as it came, and her chin fell to her chest despairingly.

Logan frowned again. Something was severely off with her tale. "So what happened then?" he asked suspiciously, not sure if he was going to like the ending of her story.

She turned and looked him dead in the eye.

"They died," she said simply, letting her words hang in the air.

He was unable to respond, suddenly realizing he had common ground with Jubilee. She had lost two sets of parents. This kid had gone through enough difficulty to last a lifetime. She was just like him. Unwanted time and time again; and suddenly when they were wanted, life decided to unfairly rip any shot at happiness out of their grasps.

"How'd they die?" he asked suddenly, curiosity getting the best of him again.

She continued to stare at him for several long and quiet seconds, as though contemplating whether she should tell him. Her facial expression reminded him of Ororo's, as though the great secret of Jubilation Lee would be his absolute ruin.

"He died at Alkali Lake at her hands," she admitted softly, eyes unblinking. Logan's mouth opened in surprise as she continued, "And, well, I think you already know how she died."

His mouth agape, the lit cigarette fell out unnoticed to the ground. Her eyes gave way to no anger or blame, but acceptance. It was gesture from her that he knew he didn't deserve at all. Jean was going to adopt her. How had he not known? He suddenly felt thunder in his heart. The child before him was missing the exact same person from her life as he was, and even more. He stood suddenly, backing away from her as though she were poison. His deed in taking Jean's life, no matter how necessary it had been, had ripped the woman from this child's life. The guilt was overwhelming. His heart was racing, and he stared at her in horror. When he couldn't find the words to respond, she frowned angrily.

She stood quietly, and he backed away several more steps. "I know what you're thinkin'," she accused seriously. "But this team needs you; everyone is either dead or incapacitated. And Marie needs you too, you know…"

He didn't answer, or perhaps couldn't answer. He felt half feral in this vulnerable position, all caused by the little girl he thought he had no connection to. He understood now, all the staring and the curiosity, and even the way she took to him so unabashedly. Besides her blatant curiosity, she hadn't ever treated him any different than she treated anyone else at this mansion. The reason she had always stood out in his mind was never clear until now: she had treated him without fear or caution as many others at the school did, but with an admittedly annoying and childish equality she bestowed on all. He didn't deserve it.

He backed away again at the thought, inadvertently causing her to stomp at him angrily, demanding, "Don't you turn into a coward and run off again! Are you gonna leave this team to pick up the pieces of your dust trail again?!"

When he didn't respond, she growled and threw a ball of plasma at him. The bright, hot spark burnt his skin temporarily, but he took very little notice of it. He glared defensively at the teenager before him, feeling quite like a child and as though their roles were somehow reversed. Jubilee was the mature one here, and the disappointed look in her face at what they both knew he was going to do next was too much for him to handle.

Without a word, he brushed past her roughly and hustled toward the mansion. He left her fuming in the courtyard garden alone. Logan refused to look back; he had things he needed to pack.

Wolverine's Quarters
Tuesday, July 3rd, 11:25pm

Without warning, his bedroom door flew open. He turned, expecting to find Jubilee invading his privacy once again. Instead, he was surprised to find Ororo at the doorway. Although donned in a full white night gown, she looked positively threatening with one hand on her hip and eyes blazing white.

"Ever heard of knockin', 'Ro?" he asked, feeling annoyed as he shoved several t-shirts into his old duffel bag.

"What, pray tell, do you think you're doing, Logan?" she asked menacingly, eyes narrowing as he yanked open another drawer.

"What's it look like?" he replied sarcastically as he continued to pack.

She took a deep calming breath before she continued sternly, "You came back here to help the team, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did," Logan replied gruffly, "But I don't see how me stayin' is going to help after you been keepin' secrets from me!" He stopped and looked at her, suddenly feeling like he solved a mystery. "Is that why you never wanted me to talk to the Jubilee?! Because you didn't want me to leave? You can't protect me from the truth, 'Oro-"

"By the Gods, Logan!" she interrupted, and thunder boomed in the distance. Her voice dropped down to a deadly whisper. "Do you honestly think that the reason I forbade you to interrogate Jubilee is actually for your sake?" The venom in Ororo's voice was startling. She'd never spoken to him in such a manner before.

He turned to face her full on and glared back. "Get off your high horse, Storm," he growled defensively. "You should've told me that Jeannie was gonna adopt her-"

"I think you mean Jean and Scott," she interrupted sharply, as though everything she'd been bottling up was now going to explode. "This team, this school – this family – didn't just lose one member! How easily you forget everyone else who died!"

"That's besides the point, Storm!" Logan barked defensively as he threw down his duffel in a fit.

"No, Logan," Ororo continued, refusing to back down as Logan became more aggressive. "That's precisely the point! You've been so focused on Jean that you've forgotten about everyone else! We lost Cyclops, we lost the Professor! Everyone at this school lost someone! We are all mourning! You aren't the only one here who suffered something so great! And the child you're now running from has lost a mother and a father – twice in just one fifth of a lifetime!"

"Don't you think I realize that?!" Logan demanded. "It was my hands that took Jean away from her! My passion for Jean that took away her shot at a second shot at second family!"

"So your guilt-ridding solution to this mess is to run off? Like a child?" Ororo accused.

"What is your point?" he asked, feeling torn between guilt and rage.

"Jubilee's just like you! She's a runaway, Logan!" Ororo exclaimed angrily as though it were obvious.

"I still don't see what that's got to do with me," Logan declared, not wanting to hear Jubilee's name.

"Honestly, Logan," she sighed heatedly, and in the distance Logan heard thunder. "Don't you understand? Every home Jubilee has been in thus far has failed her. This home has already failed her thrice – when the adoption didn't go through and when Jean and Scott died! Honestly, I don't even know why she remains, but I do know she's on her last straw! She will blame herself for your departure, and she will blame herself when Marie's heart breaks after she realizes you've left yet again! Jubilee hasn't much to hold on to here! So don't you dare be the reason that this home fails her again, or she'll leave us and never return!"

Logan tensed when lightning struck somewhere outside the mansion, sure that Ororo's wrath was going to rain down upon him tonight.

"You really think she's gonna run away from here?" he asked seriously. "Because of me?"

Ororo sighed exasperatedly. "Where exactly do you think she is right this moment?" she asked. When he shrugged somewhat dumbfoundly, she replied, "I just came from her dorm room downstairs. She's packing. And doing it much more hastily than you are, might I add!"

"Fuck," Logan muttered defeatedly.

The Mansion Foyer
Tuesday, July 3rd, 11:45pm

He had left Ororo in his room without a word and raced down the stairs to the dormitories. She hadn't come with him, knowing full well she couldn't convince the girl to stay. This was between Jubilee and Logan, and the latter would have to be the one to resolve the problem. He stopped halfway along the staircase when he saw that she was already donning a backpack and headed for the school's front door.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" he demanded, his booming voice echoing in the hallway.

Jubilee froze as soon as he spoke. She recovered from her surprise rather quickly and turned to face him. She eyed him up and down, noting the duffel bag he had slung over his shoulder. "Looks like I should be askin' you the same question, Wolvie," she said seriously.

"I don't answer to children," he growled, advancing on her.

He was now a mere few feet away from her.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "And I don't answer to cowards," she chided cheekily. She turned and pried open the front door.

He sprung forward quickly and slammed it shut in front of her so she couldn't escape, having dropped his bag in pursuit.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" she cried out, glaring up at him angrily.

"I asked you a question, kid," Logan demanded, towering over her petite frame.

"You're such a jerk!" she yelled, throwing a tiny accusing finger in his face.

He had to resist the urge to break her index digit in that moment. Temper rising, he grabbed her by the jacket front with both hands and shook her slightly, her feet dangling several inches off the ground. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked again, his desperation to make her stay coming off as anger.

She wriggled furiously in his grip. "Don't pretend you give a rat's ass what I do!" she roared viciously. "You don't care about anyone but your lame old stupid self!"

The sudden frantic tone of her voice struck him. He smelled tears. Shit, he thought. He was just terrible with children. He loosened his grip.

But as soon as he let his guard down, the little asshole sprayed plasma into his face.

He roared in pain and dropped her. He was only blinded momentarily though, thanks to his healing factor, and looked up in time to see that she was already out the front door and sprinting down the driveway. His hunting instincts kicked in and he soared after her, catching up in no time.

With one easy sweep, he had knocked her down. She growled angrily beneath his grasp.

"Why?" he demanded as he pinned her face-down into the gravel. "Why are you leaving?"

"You wanna know?!" she screamed beneath him.

He flipped her over onto her back harshly, and she grunted painfully. He bent down and snarled into her face. "Yes, dammit!"

"Because if I don't, then you'll leave!" she spat, still wriggling beneath him. "Get offa me, you big lump!"

Logan frowned, not quite comprehending. "Why do you care so much if I leave?" he asked gruffly.

"I already told you!" she exclaimed. "This team needs you! Marie needs you! If you can't stand to look at my face for even one second, then you'll be gone before anyone realizes it! I invested the past six years to this school! I'll be damned if it goes to hell because of me!"

"That doesn't even make sense, kid," Logan said, finally taking a turn to roll his eyes.

"Don't you get it?" she asked beneath him. "The team doesn't need me! They need you! You're our best bet at avoiding casualties, and you're the one who can make us stronger! But I ain't stupid. You're not gonna stick around as long as you have to see my face! I love my family here, and when it comes to what's best for them and the choice is either you or me, the answer is you!"

Logan blinked confusedly. Is this really what the kid thought? Did she really spend her waking moments worrying about the welfare of her teammates, whether they lived or died? It made sense, considering death had been a common theme all her life. He was humbled suddenly at how important she thought he was for all of them. After Logan had taken away any chance at her happiness, she still held him in high regard. It only fed the guilt inside him.

"GET OFF OF ME!" she wailed deafeningly.

To his own surprise, he did. He let go and pushed himself up, still soaking in her words.

She was surprised as well at her newfound freedom, but sat up rubbing her now sore wrists. She eyed him carefully, wondering what he would do next, as she staggered up to her feet to face him.

Logan regarded Jubilee for the first time in a completely new light. His actions in the past suddenly seemed so clear. He had been the thorn in Scott and Jean's marriage during a critical stage that resulted in putting off her adoption. When Scott was killed, Logan wasn't as upset as he should've been. He realized now that Jubilee must have mourned his death as a second father. It was Logan who had been the one to take Jean's life. And by packing his bags tonight in selfish guilt, he was thereby forcing her to leave the only place she had left in the world. He felt he had done so much damage in Jubilee's life that there was nothing he could do to help even begin to repair it. Except maybe, he thought, to convince her to stay.

Jean had meant so much to him, after all. And Jubilee meant so much to Jean. In turn, shouldn't he care at least a little bit about the wellbeing of the girl who stood before him? Perhaps he could finally do Jean justice by finally doing something right by Jubilee.

"I'll make you a deal," Logan found himself saying awkwardly, his voice showing no hint of anger anymore.

"What?" Jubilee asked, eyeing him apprehensively and distrustingly.

He paused for a moment. "I'll stay if you will," he offered seriously.

"What?" she asked again, clearly not believing him.

"I won't leave this place as long as you don't either," he stated firmly.

She seemed to consider this apprehensively. He watched as her hands clenched and unclenched unsurely. She bit her lip earnestly before asking, "Why?"

Logan knew he had to answer this carefully. Ororo was right; Jubilee was in a fragile state of mind after everything that had happened. She felt no sense of security or belonging, despite the love she felt for her current home. "Because Jean and Scott would want you to stay," he explained. He noted that her expression softened severely at the mention of their names. "And because if it's a choice between me putting up with your bullshit all the time, or having to live in this school without you, then the answer is very clearly you."

Jubilee blinked, almost unsure of whether to accept his words as a compliment. She was silent for several long seconds, still considering her options. Logan was almost sure she wouldn't accept his offer. Finally, she furrowed her eyebrows in resolution and said, "And Marie too."

"What?" It was Logan's time to be confused. He raised an eyebrow. What did Marie have to do with this?

"You can't leave as long as Marie's living here either," Jubilee declared firmly.

Logan had to admire her selflessness. The situation at hand was clearly about Jubilee, and the girl couldn't help but think of others. He realized now that his prior departures must have affected Marie badly or Jubilee would not have mentioned it.

"Deal," he said gruffly. He held his hand out to her to seal the deal.

The teenager eyed his rough hand wearily, and he realized she still did not trust him. After so many broken homes and promises, he didn't blame her for feeling so guarded at yet another commitment. Perhaps there was something he could do to remedy that. But it couldn't happen unless she accepted his offer now. Hesitantly, she met his offered hand with hers and gave it a firm shake.

"Deal," she whispered as they let go. She looked down at her feet awkwardly, unsure of what to do next. Neither individual had anything to say to the other at this point. They stood there for several long moments, neither making a move to the school or front gate.

"C'mon," Logan said, deciding to take the lead. He gestured toward the school and headed for the front doors. He stopped when he didn't hear her follow and looked over his shoulder. She stood painfully still, as though still debating. He watched carefully as she took one small hesitant step toward him, and then finally proceeded to follow him inside, thereby honoring their deal.

Logan felt immense relief once the front door was shut behind them, and Jubilee had disappeared without another word up the stairs, presumably to Scott and Jean's old bedroom.

He leaned against the front door, thankful that he was now by himself as he let the heaviness of his and Jubilee's situation fall upon his shoulders. Logan was incredibly unsure of their future. Would things between them be different from now on? Would their entire annoy-ignore relationship evolve into something more after this? Would he wake up the following morning feeling less aggravated by her sarcasm and bubble-gum popping? Or would they simply continue their daily routine of eye-rolling and growling?

It didn't matter, Logan finally decided after several long minutes, as long as they were both here to experience it.

-fin-