Life Bites (the_hotness) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-11-05 19:56:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, jubilation lee (jubilee), laura kinney (wolverine) |
Will you still be my friend?
Who: Jubilee and Little!laura
What: Finding a new home
When: About four months after Jubilee kidnapped her
Where: New York
Status: complete
Rating: PG-13
Laura was sleeping soundly in their hotel room, clutching a stuffed orca whale close to her chest. The past couple months were the most amazing part of her life. Between Disneyworld and seeing wild horses, and being the center of attention Laura felt like the luckiest girl alive.
Jubilee thought Laura was going to hate her. It broke her heart. A lot. But she had to give her a stable, normal life. While they’d been traveling she’d been researching, and she thought she knew just where Laura could have a normal family. She stroked her fingers through the girl’s hair. For nearly 150 years she’d traveled around. Her friends and family had faded like a fuzzy photograph. She’d had decades of party girl, and decades of quiet recluse. She probably outslutted Logan at this point.
But the one image that had always been in sharp relief was Laura. Maybe it was pathetic of her. Maybe she really was a closet romantic. She looked down at the little girl and remembered all the things she was giving up. She thought that maybe it would be worth it.
Laura shifted when Jubilee touched her hair and opened her eyes. She looked up at Jubilee, and she was sure the woman was an angel. “Hi.” She said quietly, smiling over the orca’s nose. “Is it morning?”
“It’s morning. Mostly. We have a big day planned. There’s a zoo, and after the zoo, we’re going to find this house. It’s a really nice house, with a puppy and a couple kitties, and two very nice women.” Jubilee rubbed at her own shoulder.
“Oh? Are we going to play with the kitties?” Laura asked as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.
“Yeah, we’re gonna play with the kitties, and if things go really good, the nice women will let you stay because the kitties and puppy need someone to watch after them.”
Laura thought about that for a minute. “I won’t see my mom again?” She frowned. The idea didn’t sound very good to her.
“Your mom doesn’t want to see you again,” Jubilee said softly. “She just wants you around to bring in guys.”
“Nuh uh.” Laura said, shaking her head. “She says they’re helping her be around me more. She used to work all the time and now she plays with me again.” She wished the men would go away, but she loved her mom.
“The men just want to use her. They don’t love her, and they’re just going to keep coming around. Do you wanna help your mom?”
Laura nodded. She wanted her mom to be happy, like the moms on tv. “Yeah.”
“Then you gotta be happy and grow up as to be a really smart and awesome woman, and be happy. It’s what your mom wants. She has to be happy without you.” Jubilee didn’t even think she was lying.
Laura whimpered, hugging her orca tight. “Will you be nice to her too? Like you were to me?”
“Yeah, I will be nice.” Jubilee thought about it. Maybe being nice would be getting her mom help. Maybe that would be good. It couldn’t be bad. Wolvie wasn’t able to help her but maybe she can.
Laura nodded. “Okay.” She sniffled and hugged her stuffed whale. “Will you still be my friend?”
“I’ll always watch over you. And I’ll leave you presents on your birthday,” Jubilee said, still stroking her hair. “But there’s something I gotta do and it’ll take me away for a very long time. Remember your necklace? You have to guard that for me. But I’ll always, always be your friend.”
Laura nodded, and covered her face with her whale. She scooted to the edge of the bed and hopped off, running to the bathroom to cry. Adults didn’t like it if she cried in front of them, but she really wanted to right then.
Jubilee wished she could cry, but the tears didn’t flow. She let Laura cry for a little while, then came in and wrapped her arms around her. “It’s okay to cry, you know. Nothin’ wrong with that.”
Laura sniffled and curled up in Jubilee’s arms. “I don’t know the ladies and their dog and cats. They could be mean.”
“I’ve met them. They’re really nice. But!” She held up a finger. “If they’re mean I’ll come and get you and we’ll try again. Okay? Just leave a message in your window.”
Laura nodded and shivered. “Okay.” There wasn’t much she could do.
“No matter what. I love you. Okay? You’re a really special girl, and you’re going to be awesome.” She kissed Laura’s forehead. “I’ll protect you.”
“Okay.” She nodded and took a deep breath. This was like the move, she’d just have to be brave. “We’re gonna see animals first, right?”
“I promised! We’ll see animals!” She picked Laura up. “Lets get dressed.” She looked out the window, then at the time. She was going to have to bundle up hardcore, but it would be worth it. She just hoped Laura got tired of the zoo before the sun got too high in the sky.
Laura wanted to stay with Jubilee as long as possible. She went to the dresser and dug through the clothes in there. They had a t-shirt for each place they’d seen. She tugged one from Six Flags out of the drawer and tugged her pajamas off.
Jubilee grinned, pulling a big jacket on and looking for a hat. She had some excellent sunscreen that really seemed to help, even if she did mostly try to take Laura at night or really early in the morning. “Come on, the sun’ll be up soon, we don’t wanna get the crowds!”
“Okay,” Laura said, and she finished getting dressed. She grabbed her whale and took Jubilee’s hand. “I’m ready!”
Sniffling slightly, Jubilee led Laura out.