Despite the fact Luke was away Raina was damned determined to make sure Valentines Day happened. Maybe not for her, but at least for the residence of the mansion. She always felt it important to celebrate as many times as she could in a year at the mansion for those residences who never left. There were orphans, runaways, and kids whose parents just up and left them here one day. People without family, and there were always new mutants without friends yet.

Sure she really missed Luke, but she missed him all the time. That wasn't going to change simply because Valentines Day was around the corner.

So far the living room looked like a fourth grade classroom. There were pink streamers and paper hearts everywhere. There was a table set up in the middle of the room with a heart table cloth covered in many red foods. Cinnamon hearts, suckers, drinks, chips, sweets....

She turned on the stereo while she worked, wondering if anyone would show up. It was rather last minute.

Valentines day was destined to be uniquely depressing this year. It was the first one Juka had had since returning to America from Japan and the first one he had had in years in which he didn't have hordes of groupies seeking just to be near him. Because, of course, it was the first one in years in which he didn't presently have a band. Not being able to perform regularly was bad enough for an artist and a performer like him, but being a lone on valentines day was even worse. It just wasn't fair; someone like him should never have to worry about being alone. Maybe he could somehow track down his darling Prince Venus, but his Venus probably all ready had a valentine or two.

Feeling particularly sorry for himself, Juka wandered down the Mansion stairs from his temporary room in the Mansion, a room that was beginning to seem not nearly so temporary given how much time he had been spending at the Mansion lately, and into the living room. At the bottom of the stairs he stood stunned and blinked, trying to wrap his head around what he was seeing. Everything was pink and red, something he was quite certain he would have remembered seeing previously. Definitely new.

Looking around Juka spotted the one he assumed was responsible for the current pink and red state of affairs. "Raina?" His voice was hesitant, he'd only met the woman once before and then briefly. "Did you do all this?"

Raina was humming to herself as she laid things out on the table. She was unaware that she'd been humming until Juka spoke up and she stopped... "Huh? Oh, shoot!" she'd just frozen all the soda with her humming. "Aw man!" she picked the bottles up and looked at them. "I hope people like their pop really cold." students never knew what Raina was talking about when she called Soda, pop. It was kind of a Canadian thing. Like Ketchup chips.

"Hey Juka." she said with a grin. "Yeah I did this all." she nodded. She only met Juke briefly once before but it was enough to spark her interest and pull his file. He'd come here all the way from Japan and when Raina first met him she thought he was a girl. She even went so far as to ask another staff member if it had been a typo in his file!

Juka fascinated Raina. He'd never come in to speak about his history of his parents with her, but she always hoped he would.

"Happy Valentines Day!" she said with a sheepish grin. "I just thought I do something for those of us stuck at the mansion." she nodded.

Juka took a moment to take everything in and then broke out in a wide grin. "You are the sweetest loveliest woman ever, to do something so kind to all of us stuck cooped here all alone at the Mansion." He wanted to give the woman a big friendly hug but experience had taught him that not everyone was so open to such casual displays of affection and so contented himself with an elegent curtsy.

In truth 'cooped in' wasn't something that Juka ever really was, given the fact that he could simply float away at a moment's notice, but the sentament remained the same and, whether he could float away or not, he was still sadly alone. At least now he had someone to spend his valentines day with and, perhaps more than one someone. Surely there must be others at the mansion who would enjoy a little pink and red party?

"Is there anything I can do to help dearest?" Juka asked. After all, he was the first one to arrive it seemed and it always paid to be polite. Perhaps in the course o helping he might get to know a little more about the darling woman also. Yes, that would be good.

Raina liked Juka instantly. It wasn;t just his over the top clothing that she secretly envied, but the way he carried himself with utter confidence and spoke clearly wearing his heart on his sleeve. He was younger than her but she felt an immediate sense of warmth radiating from him. She grinned from ear to ear. She was going to love spending time with this one.

"Well, we can move that table... maybe you can upload a playlist too and dock the ipod" she pointed. "I still need to put out the napkins... ooh and I have these lovely white lights..." she held up a string of lights in a massive next of knots "that need a little help!"

she laughed as she went back to setting up. "You know Juka, I've read your file. You like music, and if I may be so bold to say I think you'd be quite good at drama." she paused a moment. "I'm interested in putting on a musical dinner theatre here at the mansion. Just to raise money and give the teens and younger students and opportunity to participate in something together. I've been hoping to enlist some help..." she grinned

Juka eagerly began assisting, starting with moving the indicated table to the indicated spot. He wasn't the strongest person ever but the table wasn't all that heavy anyway and he was determined to do his part. Once the table was sucessfully moved he followed the directions given him, content to be of assistance. Raina really did seem like a sweet woman.

"You know Juka, I've read your file. You like music, and if I may be so bold to say I think you'd be quite good at drama. I'm interested in putting on a musical dinner theatre here at the mansion. Just to raise money and give the teens and younger students and opportunity to participate in something together. I've been hoping to enlist some help..."

Juka beamed. Not only had someone considered him to be important enough to read his file, but he was also being invited to perform in a musical. It was a little outside of his area of expertise, but if it was an excuse to get on stage and entertain the masses then he could not, in good conscience, refuse. "Of course I will help with your musical dinner theatre. I warn you though, if you accept me on stage I might just overshadow all the other darling acters and singers." He winked.

"Raina, darling, you seem to no so much about me but, alas, I know nothing about you. What should I know about the beautiful Raina?" No one could ever accuse Juka of not being direct in his inquiries.

Raina grinned from ear to ear. "Juka... darling..." she said testing out the word and finding that she liked it. "Not only will you be on the stage, you'll be behind it, above it... I thought you'd make a great stage manager as well as playing a role." she nodded attempting to explain further. "I'd like to do the musical West Side Story... I'm not sure if you've heard of it or not... but it's a musical about these two rival gangs that keep fighting. It's very romeo and Juliet but deals with issues of race and class. I figure we could do the mutant version and get some powers involved."

she hadn't quite decided how she wanted it to all work but she knew Juka had great artistic vision and would be a good help. Then he asked her about herself. Quite direct, but then again the students deserved to know whatever they wanted about their teachers.

"Well... I'm the music teacher here as well as the guidance counselor. My main priority at the mansion is to help new students assimilate. It's a full time job, and I also work park time at the NYC aquarium though I fear it's becoming full time as well." she laughed. "Oh, and there is the whole throw some water at me and things will get a little fishy or icy. One or the other." she winked

ooc: if you really are interested in this musical, we can do our own little side story of having auditions, making the set etc. and invite other players!

February 14th would have been just like any other day. Every holiday to Fade was just like any other day. Maybe on Christmas, she would get a little gift from the X-Men to remind her it was, indeed, Christmas, or maybe New Years, she would hear some fireworks, but she never really participated in any of them. Valentine's day would be just February 14th if she hadn't walked into a love dove cave. Right in the middle was Raina, one of the X-Men who loved to celebrate. It seemed that when a special even happened around the Mansion, Raina was involved. It was a good trait, she was always good with socializing.

Every inch of Fade's body told her to just walk away, all the pink and sweets and hearts every where. Then again, Valentine's day was the day for her favorite color, red. Speaking of red, there was one giant walking Valentine's baddy, that Venus. He was a giant chunk of man, though he seemed like plenty of girls chased after him. Not like it mattered, Fade enjoyed a challenge. Plus, he knew how to tickle the 'wild side' of her. Her eyes slowly focused in again and she forced out a smile. It wasn't that she was being mean, she was just trying to take in all the love crap.

"Hey there Raina," she waved and paused at Juka. Now she had heard of his name, but hadn't actually used it in a conversation or really personally met him, or had she. "Hey there, I'm Fade." For some odd reason, the X-Men had begun calling her Jenny, which was an annoyance. She hated that name, she was always Fade, that was the best name to have, an inhuman name. "Happy Valentine's Day," she smiled at both of them.

"I'm sure it would be an honour and a privalege to be a part of your musical!" Juka gushed. He really was liking Raina. Not only did she seem to appreciate his own talents, but she was sweet and nice besides. What wasn't to love about the woman? And even better she had nether tried to kill him nor caused him to think uncomfortable thoughts about the merits of killing humans. A shudder followed that momentary thought and he forced all thoughts of both Abyss and Aura out of his head, hopefully forever.

"Fishy or icy?" Juka blinked confusedly. Caught the wink. Blinked some more, still confused. Maybe it had something to do with her power? "Um...my bubble prevents me from getting wet if I don't want to. I'd offer to lend it to you but I don't really think it works that way." His voice was still confused but he winked anyway, in good nature.

As much as Juka was enjoying getting to know Raina, he was even more thrilled when another walked down the stairs to join their little party. After all, two people didn't exactly make for much of a party. "A pleasure to meet you, lovely Fade. I am Juka Miami." An elaborate and deep bow followed the introduction of himself. "And a most happy valentine's day to you as well."

ooc: haha Juka great response to the wink. Haha actually made me laugh out loud

Ic:

Raina laughed as it seemed Juka didn't know what she meant by fishy and icy. Guess he hadn't seen the adds for the New York City Aquarium Mermaid. Just as well, sometimes it was nice when someone didnt know your powers. She couldn't help but grin. Juka was cool.

It was then that Fade entered the room. Raina met her a handful of times since her arrival at the mansion but Fade was rather elusive. "Hello Fade..." she said making note of the way the woman looked at Juka. Boy was she in for a surprise.

Juka seemed happy to see her, just another face and he greeted her warmly. "Nice last name," she smiled sincerely. People with cities as their last name just seemed to intrigue her. Like someone with the last name Phoenix or York, it just seemed interesting. Then again, by the looks of this character, he was interesting enough without the city last name. While Juka seemed to jump up at seeing her, Raina was a bit different of a story. It seemed like Fade could get along just fine with any guy, but only a few girls could get along with her. It was not like Raina spat fire at her, but there was a little subtle hint that Raina was still suspicious.

It would have been so much easier to blend back in with the X-Men if those who used to be on her team were still around, like Daria, Mike, Raph or Deathstar. She had a feeling that Ghost was not a big fan of her either, but what did she know about how the girls liked her? She stuck with the guys best. She probably read it all wrong. X-Men always look out for each other. Then again, she did help train Calley's group, and look what happened there. X-Man or not, they all had human nature.

"Got a Valentine, Juka?" She asked. She remembered seeing Raina and Luke together, another X-Man she did not really know, and she figured Luke was Raina's Valentine. "And what about you, Raina? I haven't seen Luke around, you two still together?" Maybe it was that she really was not around that much; Fade did not just wander around the Mansion like she used to back in "the day".

Kasumi wounder's if it is her or is this day drunk or something like that? Going though a brake up is the worst feeling in the world and she has that. Kasumi has been crying for days in her room not letting anyone in. It shows that she has not been sleeping well with the dark bags under her eyes. She has lost a few pounds form not eating well also. She has on a white tank top with white jeans and her shoes. Her hair is down she does not have any make-up on.

She does not care her long red hair is down. Sighing to herself soon she sees Raina,Fade and Juka. Her eyes looks down she just keeps away form them for now. She feels so sad over this she pulls some of her hair behind her ear. Her eyes are dim and so sad even her shoulders are down. With out Shin it is not the same she thinks about him soon tears comes to her eyes. She closes her eyes as a tear rolls down her cheek. Soon Kaumis hand comes up as she brushes away the tear.

Kasumi lets out a long sigh she really does not feel like being out and about on this day. But she has to get out sometime. But why this day of all days?! Biting her bottom lip as she wraps her arms around her shoulders she keeps her eyes closed so tight. She is fighting not to cry even fighting it tears roll down her cheeks.

It seemed that Raina was not about to enlighten poor Juka bout becoming either icy or fishy but mysteries just made things all the more fun. He vowed to discover what her great aquarelated secret might be. He could be very sneaky when he wanted to be. Maybe he would float in on her and drop a bucket of water on her and see what happened. Yes indeed, that was exactly what he would do. But sometime later. For now he had a party to enjoy.

"No valentine for me alas," Juka informed Fade with characteristic melodramatic tone of voice. "My beautiful red Prince Venus is no where to be found and I have so very few fans here in America." So what if the comment made him sound like he slept around with fan girls and fan boys. He did sleep around with fan girls and fan boys so there really wasn't anything to misinterpret there. It had been a while though.

Juka spotted Kasumi wandering down the stairs, a forlorn expression on her face. He hadn't spoken to either her or Shin much recently; so much had been happening in his life and he had been so intent on his training to become a proper X man. He ran up to her, intending to give her a big comforting hug. He hadn't forgotten how kind she had been when he was still recovering from Aura's attack. "My sweet Kasumi, what's wrong darling?"

Raina gave a grin at Jukas response. Didn't Fade realize he was younger than her? Oh well. It's not like Raina could say much, here she was falling all over herself around Martin when Luke was away on business. Yeah, she wasn't proud of that.

She also spotted Kasumi. She'd heard from some of the other students that she seemed unlike herself and she was actually planning on asking her in for a guidance meeting to see what was going on. It looked like she was about to find out. "Come on in Kasumi, we have a lot of food!" she gestured.

The little timid redhead walked down the stairs. It seemed that there were more redhead mutants than redhead humans. It always seemed like redheads feel in one of two categories: extrovert or introvert. If you were a redhead, you were either really out there and passionate and fun and able to talk to anyone, or you were drawn into yourself, quiet, timid, cute. Fade had hardly met anyone who did not fall in those categories, unless you counted her. Her personality was out there and she wanted to meet many people, but her powers and her life style kept her slightly pulled in and many X-Men did not really know much about her, except for that handsome Streak that she had the pleasure of having a midnight conversation...yes, conversation with a while back.

Juka spoke up about how his Prince Venus was no where to be found and Fade muffled a laugh. Some girls would have been furious if they found out a guy they had relations with had woo'ed someone else, but hell, if she were in Venus's body, she would probably do the same thing. He was so strong and the pure essence of testosterone, what was unattractive about that? Still, it was probably best she did not talk about her amazing night and day with the giant red man, instead, she just kept it quiet and calmed herself down. Deciding to take a different approach, she raised her hand slightly, as if a suggestion instead of needing to be recognized. "I'll be your fan!"

Another glance at Kasumi told her maybe this was no time for joking, it seemed like she was in a bit of a Valentine's Day Damper. Why was it that Valentine's Day was always really awesome, or really shitty for everyone but her? Opting out of romance really put her at a disadvantage on V-Day, she was neither really happy or really sad, she was perfectly balanced. Fade did not know Kasumi enough to hug her like Juka did, instead she just offered a smile and maybe some kind words. "Hey there, everyone in this room is your Valentine," she said softly. Of course, this did not mean they were all gonna strip and do what lovers do when the lights are off, but Raina, Juka and Fade would all lend a shoulder for her to lean on, an act of unromanced love, but still love, wasn't that the meaning of Valentine's Day.

UGH! When did Fade get so mushy?