Late Night Hot Chocolate Remedies

Jubilee startled awake, a gasp punching out of her chest hard enough that it hurt. There were tears running down her face and her hands were sparking lightly. A deep breath, as deep as she could manage at least as she tried to not cry, her hands coming up to rub her eyes. She didn't remember what the nightmare was about, but the fear she felt was immense.

"I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay," Jubilee repeated to herself as she pushed herself up, only once she trusted that her mutation wasn't going to fry her blanket or the sheets. Her heart was still thudding rapidly, and her mind was stuck on the fear that she felt. And her throat felt dry. There was currently only one thing she could fix about that situation.

"I'm okay. Come on, get a grip on yourself." Jubilee sighed, swinging her legs and standing up. She needed a glass of water. She walked towards the door, rubbing her eyes as she stepped out into the hallway, mentally repeating that she was safe at the X-Men mansion.

She walked down the hall and down two flights of stairs, really the size of the place was ridiculous some days. Others, well, on the others she was glad for the space when she just needed to be alone. Being an X-Men was hard, never mind the fact she was nearly sixteen. She wasn't even an adult like the rest of them, and sometimes... sometimes she felt alone, and like no one understood where she was coming from.

She sighed as she made it to the kitchen, the chill of the winter air finally getting into the mansion and settling. Maybe she should invest in some warmer pajamas, but that was a worry for later. For right now she just wanted a glass of water. She walked into the kitchen, not even bothering to find a light. She was pretty good at memorizing where everything was after nearly three years of living here.

"Petite?" Jubilee jumped, spinning to find Gambit sitting at the kitchen table. There was obvious concern in his voice. Her heart pounded even harder than it had been originally, still feeling the fear from her nightmare, although it was much less than when she woke up.

"Gambit! You scared me!" Jubilee exclaimed, her hand moving from where it had subconsciously jumped up, as if to stop her heart from jumping from her chest. Jubilee quickly found the light above the stove, which should have been an indicator someone was in there, since some of the X-Men don't like the light when in the kitchen at night.

"Sorry, petite, Gambit didn't mean to startle ya," Gambit winced, apologizing. Jubilee took a moment to breathe as she processed that Gambit sounded awake. He'd been awake for hours if she had to guess, which was unusual. "What are you doing awake, chère?"

"Could ask the same of you." Jubilee responded, but she knew that he would never answer why he was awake, but expected her to answer anyway. "But I had a nightmare, needed a glass of water." Gambit's face twisted into understanding.

"Do you need water, or would you like hot chocolate?" Jubilee stared at him in confusion, a tilt of her head indicating that she was confused. "Whenever I have nightmares, I typically drink Hot Chocolate, when I have the option of doing so, if you know what I mean." Gambit laughed lightly, even though nothing he said had been funny. It was a non-humorous laugh.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Jubilee answered anyway, "But..." She spied the mug that was sitting in front of Gambit and had a suspicion. "Yeah, I would like some hot chocolate." She wrapped her arms around herself a little as Gambit smiled and motioned for her to sit down.

"Let me, chère." He offered, and Jubilee took it without hesitation. She sat at the table, near to where Gambit had been previously sitting, and she watched as Gambit moved around the kitchen, jokingly hissing at the light which got a quiet giggle out of Jubilee.

"What was yours about?" Jubilee asked, watching as he grabbed a mug and a hot chocolate packet, and a second one for himself she assumed. Gambit paused, tilting his head for a few moments, as if lost in thought, before shaking it and offering her a smile. It was smaller than before, and a little shaky.