A Stranger to Discretion

[Jubilee]

'Rise and shine, Elf, where are you?!'

Jubilee paused at the mouth of the office hallway for what had to be at least the fourth time. She'd walked to the kitchen and back that many times, and kept getting more food she didn't even want just so it wouldn't be obvious that she kept going back and forth to check one of the offices for signs of life.

She was fully aware that he could have just teleported straight into his office, but she really didn't want to knock. Not yet. Not ever, except that she was sick of playing like everything was fine and dandy when everything was very unfine and far from dandy.

Jubilee dipped the white candy spoon of her FunDip into the package of bright blue sugar crystals, eyeing the door. She sighed in frustration and turned, rolling her eyes. One more trip. One more look. And then she'd just go find a bullhorn and tell the whole cotton-pickin' world.

[Nightcrawler]

Kurt pulled on his shirt, covering his scar-coated chest, and adjust the ties along the small slit below the neck. It felt like a good day to not wear the vest he was so regularly seen in; Foley had visited him and restored him to perfect health yesterday, and now he was feeling so good that he didn't need the leather psuedo-armor that he wore regularly. Just a German peasant's shirt from his days at home. He could almost smell the trees of the Schwarzwald every time he put it on.

Of course, the shirt had been washed, so all he could really smell was detergeant. But he could almost smell it.

Pulling his coat on, he focused slightly and teleported down to the office outside his door. He could have just gone straight inside, but part of being a teacher was being available to the students who might need to see you, and not letting them know you were there was a poor method of teaching.

Students very much like Jubilee, who was marching up and down the hall looking like she had something she very much needed to say. "Fräulein Lee? Are you all right?"

[Jubilee]

Jubilee caught Kurt out of the corner of her eye--she certainly smelled him--and she whirled around as soon as she'd started to turn away. "There you are!" she said without thinking. "You know, of all the days to sleep in, today was--"

She stopped. She looked to the side. She looked at him. She tried to think of a way to recover. But as quick as her tongue was, she had nothin'. With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, she gave up. "I think what I'm tryin' to say is: do you have a minute?"

Her slip and her lack of a recovery, not to mention the fact that her tone wasn't as sharp as it had been when she'd left the school, hinted that something was under her skin.

[Nightcrawler]

Kurt's mouth turned up slightly with amusement, and he fished his keys out of his pants pocket, unlocking his door. "Ja, Miss Lee, I believe I have a minute." He let his door swing open, already knowing that one of the many small stacks of books near the wall would stop it from drifting all the way. "Come into my office."

Stepping inside, Kurt slipped his coat off of his shoulder, hanging it from the coatrack near the doorway. For a moment he wondered why he bothered to put it on at all, but he knew it was more of a comfort to wear it than any real physical neccessity. Stepping around his desk, he folded his hands behind his back and looked out at the bright morning, his tail slowly looping behind him peacefully.

Turning back to the room, he watched Jubilee walk inside and motioned to one of the chairs sitting in front of his desk as he pulled his own out and sat down. Scratching his chin, he leaned back. "So, Miss Lee... what is bothering you?"

[Jubilee]

Sitting down, Jubilee was liking the idea of telling him less and less. 'What am I doing?' she asked herself. She didn't generally confide in people; she just dealt with things herself, it was how she'd always been. So how exactly was she planning to drop the news that she'd been Cured?

But why not? She couldn't keep it on the DL forever, and if she had to spill to someone, she'd rather spill her guts to Nightie than anyone else.

"So I never got put in the corner for my little psyche-out with the FEDs," she said in a careless tone. "Not that I'm complaining. But I didn't even do anything."

Must have seemed pretty random, but to her, the statement that she didn't do anything was the bottom line. It was what she was trying to get at, and for once in her life, she couldn't just put it bluntly.

[Nightcrawler]

Kurt leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his desk. Something was tugging at the back of his mind, and he usually listened to that little pull. It had landed his hand on the trapeze bar just right too many times to ignore.

Something wasn't right. This was Jubilation Lee, well known for being one of the most forward when she had something to say and keeping everything else hidden. Something was bothering her, and she wasn't eager to say what.

The comment about the Feds certainly worried Kurt to some small degree, but she did say she hadn't done anything, so he took a deep breath and leaned forward, keeping his face calm.

"Jubilee... is there something you need to tell me?"

[Jubilee]

Good ol' Kurt. He was one of three people, the other two being Bobby and 'Ro, who could read her as easy as anything. To everyone else she was the unphaseable face of sarcasm and ridiculing. She had no idea how they saw past that, but sometimes it was just damn annoying.

And then there were times it was comforting, relieving. This was one of those times.

She smiled as a pure reaction to his persistance, though there was little happiness to it. When she looked back to him, she bit the bullet and dove right in. Her smile faded from her face.

"I just wanna know if the Cure is as permanent as they say it is."

She wasn't anywhere near tears, but her eyes did flash with a wounded sadness that was completely un-Jubilation Lee.

[Nightcrawler]

Watching her smile humorlessly, Kurt remade his assessment about the day. Perhaps it was going to be rougher than he thought.

"I just wanna know if the Cure is as permanent as they say it is."

Her words hit him like a bullet train and his eyes widened in surprise. Leaning back in his chair, he let out a long breath and looked at her. Surely she didn't...

A chill came over him and he tightened the laces at the collar of his shirt. Leaning forward, he looked her in the eyes and said, "Jubilee, have you been cured? Who did this to you?"

[Jubilee]

If Jubilee hadn't been trying to hold on to the last of her self-dependence, she would have grabbed Kurt into a crushing bear hug for the way he responded. He didn't assume that she had cured herself, didn't make in neccessary for her to defend herself. He knew without having to be told that she'd never want that.

"Remember long lost Auntie Hope?" she asked bitterly, tugging on the zipper of her comfy yellow raincoat. "Took me to get some teeth pulled. Set me up real slick."

She let out a long breath through her nose. "I haven't really told anyone..." she said. "I mean, Gumbo knows, but he could worm a secret out of a rock--GOD, it sucks." Her frustration was evident, though she was managing to keep it at bay.

[Nightcrawler]

Running a hand through his hair, Kurt leaned forward on his desk, resting on his elbows. To do that unwillingly to a young woman, to strip her of something so vital to her identity... Kurt whispered a calming prayer, marvelling at the horrid face humanity could present.

Looking back up at Jubilee, Kurt could see the hurt and frustration in her face. "I assume that's why you returned with... Herr LeBeau, was it?" He hadn't had much of an opportunity to talk with Remy, but if he helped Jubilee return here, he had to be someone Kurt would like.

Rising from his chair, Kurt scratched his chin again and walked around his desk, sitting down in the second chair he had in front. "As far as we can tell," he started, looking at his hands, "the cure seems to be permanent. However, it was created from a mutant who cancelled powers on a temporary basis. As far as I can tell, there is no basis to assume it won't wear off eventually."

Taking one of her hands in his, he gave it a comforting squeeze. "All you can do now is hope and know that we are glad to have you back, powers or not."

[Jubilee]

Kurt’s answer made Jubes want to quote a line from a TV show she’d loosely watched the summer before. ’You’re sayin’ a lot, but you’re not sayin’ anything.’

But what he said as he took her hand said everything in the world. She appreciated it immensely, but she couldn’t help but have a heavy heart nonetheless. Sure, she was glad to be back as well. But it just wasn’t the same without the PAF. She turned his comforting squeeze into the intricate hand-shake she always gave, which was just as affectionate in her way as his gesture had been.

“I was just wonderin’, ‘cause Gumbo mentioned somethin’ about it wearin’ off of some cats…” she said, clearly trying to keep the conversation from stalling with the heavy mood.

She paused, then gave Kurt a deploring look. “I never thought I’d be sayin’ this, but…how the heck am I s’posed to tell everybody? Like…it’s so not dinner convo it’s depressing. Literally.”

[Nightcrawler]

Kurt grinned as her hand started to move, trying to keep up with the actions he'd seen over and over but had never quite managed to get. He failed miserably, of course, but at least he tried.

"Yes, there has been evidence that in certain cases it wears off." He looked at her seriously. "Whether it wears off in all cases... Gott in Himmel alone knows."

Rising from the chair, Kurt leaned against his desk and thought for a moment. "In the while... I saw you talking with the boy with gray skin. With all of the teachers so busy, none of us have time to show him around, help him adjust to life here. Can I trust you to help me out with this?" It was a rather obvious ploy to keep her busy, but sometimes even the things that were obvious could help.

"As for telling everyone else..." He chewed on the inside of his lip thoughtfully. "It was difficult enough for you to tell me, so I won't force you to tell anyone else. I can inform the other teachers, and they can pass the word on to their classes. Will that suit you?"

[Jubilee]

"In the while... I saw you talking with the boy with gray skin. With all of the teachers so busy, none of us have time to show him around, help him adjust to life here. Can I trust you to help me out with this?"

Jubilee nodded, pretty sure that he was giving her busy work. Oh well, she'd put up with the Grey Pilgrim the day before, and she could put up with him again. It really wasn't putting up with him so much; he was actually a pretty cool guy. 'Never thought I'd see the day I could put up with a hard-knock thug,' she thought to herself.

A smile twitched on her lips, and she tilted her head to the side. "Yeah, sure thing. But you know, you don't have to worry 'bout me. I'm not into the whole self-pity thing. I know I'm not useless just 'cause I can't PAF anymore."

"As for telling everyone else...It was difficult enough for you to tell me, so I won't force you to tell anyone else. I can inform the other teachers, and they can pass the word on to their classes. Will that suit you?"

Jubilee's eyebrows rose. "So everyone can whisper about it in the hallways? No, thank you!" She didn't, however, have a better idea. Then one hit her, and her tone took on a sly tone, one that normally should have put Kurt on alert that a prank was in the works and that he should be very careful. "I think I know just the thing..." she said slowly, looking past him as she thought.

Turning her attention to him, to leave the planning for later, she stood. "Thanks, Big Blue. I knew you'd have the magic words to say." There was a short pause. "I sure missed you, you big lug," she said, grabbing Kurt in a too-tight hug and squeezing.

[Nightcrawler]

"Yeah, sure thing. But you know, you don't have to worry 'bout me. I'm not into the whole self-pity thing. I know I'm not useless just 'cause I can't PAF anymore."

Kurt leaned back against his desk, his tail carefully curling out of the way. "If I thought you were useless, Miss Lee, I would never have given you control over the integration of a new student. I have faith you are still your old self."

And he meant it. Jubilation Lee was likely to move past something like this quicker than most would. It was just the way she was, behavior she'd learned from her life. For once Kurt was thankful for her unquenchable spirit and ability to fight against anything.

Kurt was about to point out that the students were going to whisper in the hallways even if she told them herself, but her voice shifted timbre and that meant one thing: she had an idea. And that could bode difficult for those who would have to calm the situation down.

Still, so long as she didn't harm anyone, who was he to quash such a creative endeavor?

He smiled kindly as she rose. "Magic words, Fräulein, are what I do best." He grunted in surprise when her arms wrapped around him with strength he didn't know she possessed, but he returned the hug quickly, feeling almost paternal.

Perhaps I became a priest of sorts after all.

[Jubilee]

Jubilee finally let go and stepped back, shoving her hands into the pockets of her raincoat and causing her metal bracelets to jangle. "Thanks again," she said as she ambled to the door.

She paused in the doorway just long enough to throw him a sly smirk and say, "By the way...don't miss lunch." And with that, she gave him a wink and set off down the hall.

[Nightcrawler]

"Think nothing of it, Fräulein. You will always find me willing to listen." He gave her a pat on the shoulder as she turned to go.

But his mind couldn't help but send up a warning flag at the smirk she threw back his way.

"By the way...don't miss lunch."

He rubbed his temples. Gott in Himmel, guide me through the day...