The Traitor, The Avenger, And The Killer

Always On Our Anniversary

With the school year over and summer vacation in full swing, it was no surprise that the mansion was mostly empty. Not only the students but the teachers were taking advantage of the summertime — which had started a bit earlier this year and was already plenty warm — to get in some much-needed rest... and fun, of course.

For Jubilee and Noh, it also meant their second wedding anniversary, and they planned to be gone for a while enjoying the sun and the sand. Noh had promised to take her to "all the best beaches on your planet, according to what I've found in my research."

He'd bought her several new pairs of sunglasses as well as a bright yellow beach hat, a couple swimsuits, and a very cute pink beach wrap in preparation for their trip — and he looked downright pleased when everything fit her perfectly.

For her part, Jubilee had something very different for an anniversary present. She was just... trying to figure out the right time to spring the surprise on him.

The two of them were stretched out on a relatively private beach on one of the Hawaiian islands as Noh simply delighted in rubbing sunscreen into Jubilee's shoulders and back. He didn't burn in the sun, but he seemed to think it was endlessly amusing that "the Terrans own sun is a danger to them — honestly, Jubilee, your Earth is full of dangers."

"Yes, and we like it that way," Jubilee said with a cheeky grin as she batted her eyelashes over her shoulder at him.

"Do you have a preference for the next beach we visit?" he asked her as he wiped the excess sunscreen off his hands onto his towel. "I've been told there is crystal blue water a little west of here — though this beach seems to be already so blue that I fear our next stop may not be able to top it."

Jubilee grinned at him for a second over the top of her sunglasses. "If you have plans, don't let me stop you," she teased, knowing already that Noh would have about five different backup plans to offer her if she even suggested she wanted to go somewhere else.

"My dear Jubilee," he replied with a wide smile to match hers. "I'd be content to simply hide away with you in even the most desolate of places. The locations mean nothing to me — only the company is important."

She leaned over to gently kiss his cheek and then to continue along the line of his jaw. "You always say such nice things," she muttered to him as he grinned that much wider at her.

"It helps that after I learned the dictionary definitions of all your words, I learned the rest from your music — it lends a poetry to your language," he teased lightly. "I think it might have clouded my communication skills, though."

Jubilee laughed and then leaned back for a moment, biting her lip as she looked over her grinning husband. "It's sweet — and I'm sure you'll be teaching all the itty bitties how to write poetry by the time they're three," she teased.

"Oh, at least," he agreed with a solemn tone that didn't match the sparkle of laughter in his expression. "I did promise K that I'd teach little Elin to fly a spacecraft before she could walk — so it seems I'll be busy in my educational efforts if I'm to teach poetry as well."

"Well," Jubes said slowly, her tongue between her teeth for a second as she shrugged one shoulder up to her ear and gave him a very coy smile. "You'll have to teach more than Elin stuff like that."

"Yes, of course. Scott's children and Kate's little girl will be invited to learn anything they like," he agreed, wearing a sideways smirk of his own as he leaned back on his elbows. "But you see ... I must prioritize my little sister."

Jubilee couldn't help but grin at him, shaking her head at how he was completely missing the point before she scooted in a bit closer and snuggled into him. "Yeah, well, you should definitely do that? But you should also start thinking about what you want to teach our little one," she said pointedly, deciding it would be better to take the direct route when he was clearly too wrapped up in other people's happiness to get her hints.