One Step Closer [Jamie]

[Juliet]

She closed out of the Altaire CrowNet, a small, but sad smile playing across her lips as she leaned back and looked towards a photo of herself and her ex-fiancée that she hadn’t managed to put away off her desk since her return. Someone, probably Rosetta, had dug it out the trash in the weeks after Juliet had died according to one of the other employees, and they said that it had been hard not seeing the woman smile in the weeks beforehand. “Had I really been that difficult to be around?”

Her hand lifted to her temple as she listened to the music playing from her computer and shut her eyes, leaning forward to try and figure it all out. A Thousand Years, followed by The River Flows In You played out around her and Juliet sat there, listening to the piano and cello pieces. Since she’d returned, Cassadee had been tackling most of the music choices, but since she’d found The Piano Guys, the meaner half of her personality had since gone quiet, giving the woman some time to think. They argued, bickered. She was becoming a pain in her ***, quite plainly, but she allowed Juliet to realize things.

First, she was still in love with Athena – Jamie. She’d always be Athena to Juliet. Secondly, her action was rather selfish, but she couldn’t stay mad at her, nor could she stay depressed. But first, she needed to fix a friendship that was important to her, so she’d reached out. Even if she didn’t think she’d be able to trust her with her heart right away, Jamie was part of Juliet’s life and she meant the world to her. Roderic would probably give her the look, but there was always the ability to ignore that look.

As she stood up, she sent the woman a text. Nothing major, just asking her what she was up to before tucking the device away into the pocket of her jeans. Glancing at her desk, a quirk of her lips turned up into a grin as she remembered Jamie saying the desk was a no go. “We were supposed to try the wall next.” The brunette murmured aloud, shaking her head before picking at her fingernails. Neat, French tipped as usual. Clean. Her skin had since been continuously moisturized since her return, so it was soft and smooth just as her old skin had been. Cassadee’s mind hadn’t been thrilled with it.

“You’re ruining the way I like my body.” She had said, and Juliet had told her to shove it. Ashy skin was gone. Her nails were the way Juliet liked hers. With each passing day, she accepted it more and more that she wouldn’t look like herself again. How? She didn’t know, but she had to stop fighting it anyway. Scratching at her arm, Juliet pursed her lips and looked around her office. Glancing at the picture frame, she debated before picking it up in her hands and made her way over to an empty hook on the wall, placing it there beside one of herself, Reanna, Saige and Songbird. Her childer. Her small family, that had fallen apart.

Even if everything was different, they’d always be her blood.

“Now what.” She murmured.

[Jamie]

Love.

It was a funny thing, no matter how much you try to get away from someone you always find yourself hovering around the person. She had killed herself for love, or to run away from it. Juliet had run away to Mexico, or so she had told the Altaire people. Jamie swore to herself that she would no longer feel love. Love was dangerous, it toyed with emotions some people are too scared to admit they have. Love is what made you human, Jamie was not human. She was a vampire, a vampire that liked to kill. Dwelling on such emotions rocked Jamie, she disliked being vulnerable, and raw with pain, a wound that would never truly heal.

So she sat within the confines of Phoenix’s apartment, twilling a copper pipe within her grasp. Staring at the brown gold like surface. Her fingers scraped against the metal as she thought about Juliet. She couldn’t help herself. The woman had returned from where she had been, and thrusted herself upon the Crownet as she was just starting to become social, it had pushed her back – made her shy. Phoenix had text her, telling her it would be alright, but she knew it wouldn’t. Not whilst they were both around. Something had to be done, and soon.

Lost in thought the woman didn’t notice the vibration against her thigh, not until the foghorn sounded telling her someone had text her. She looked at the recipient and sighed. Juliet. the woman was everywhere. They had had banter over the CrowNet not so long ago, it was friendly banter. Then the woman had dedicated a song to her, she knew. She knew it was aimed at hers, and she had wanted to sing the words to the woman.

Love like that, never went away,
Love like that, had no place in Jamie’s heart.

• I’m alright, you?

She hit send, and grabbed her leather jacket and made her way out of the apartment dropping the pipe onto the cushioned seats. She was going to see Juliet, say something – sort something out. The door clicked behind her and off she went into the night. She moved quickly, strides seconds apart. Until she was Refractions, that was where she said she would be tonight. She pushed the door open and slipped behind the counter and made her way to the office. She didn’t knock on the door, simply opened it. Just as the woman was hanging a picture of herself and Juliet up on the wall, like there was some kind of sentimental value there. Though the woman she looked at now was not Juliet. She must have been her employee.

“Where is Juliet?” She said. "Can you tell her Ath-- Jamie is here to see her."

[Juliet]

I’m well enough.

She hadn’t expected the text back so soon and replied easily, setting the device back down as she went over to clean up her already immaculate office once again. The chairs were straightened out, the cushions rearranged. She kept busy to keep busy, nerves and frustration bubbling to the surface causing Cassadee’s amusement to grow. She could feel the woman’s presence at the end of her temple and shoved her back while she listened to the soothing music.

Since she had returned, Juliet worked. She had socialized with Roderic – finding out that he had been feeding off vampires and killing them in her shop’s backroom, which had briefly irritated her until she decided it was best that he did it safely, and she had spent some time with Altaire, as well as Roderic’s friend Skylar.

Juliet had talked briefly with Saige, and with Reanna – it didn’t surprise her to hear about the latter joining that bounty hunting group, but it had bothered her quite a bit that her childe had so blatantly left Altaire without a second thought. In some ways, it hurt her. But, in other ways she understood. She also knew that the only two that could fix anything between Reanna and Phoenix were Reanna and Phoenix. Juliet didn’t want to get involved.

They were both adults, anyway.

When she heard the door bells chime open at the front of the store, Juliet didn’t think anything of it. She figured it was likely one of her employees that had forgotten something. She was usually there late in the evening anyway and they didn’t bother her. ‘Cassadee’, they had learned, had a similar worth ethic to ‘Juliet’, only unlike ‘Juliet’ she knew how to take time for herself.

She listened to the footsteps coming closer as she fixed the picture before stepping back, pausing when she heard Athena – Jamie’s – voice. It almost caused her to laugh as it dawned on her that the other woman didn’t know that she was Juliet. On some level, it almost upset her that the love of her life hadn’t recognized her somehow, but then again, neither had their sire.

Turning on her heel, the brunette offered a small smile. “Hey Jamie. Technically Juliet is dead. I don’t look anything like I used to, probably won’t for a while.” She lifted her shoulder in a brief shrug, letting it fall afterwards, “Cassadee is what I go by here. It’s the name of the woman’s body that I possessed. This body, although it’s mine now.” She glanced towards a mirror where her reflection was clear.

“It’s just one of the perks about being a mystic.”

[Jamie]

In that moment she had forgotten Juliet was a mystic. She huffed. Letting her shoulders roll. The space between Juliet and Jamie was vast. She didn’t want to impose on the space. She didn’t know how this meeting would go, she didn’t want to do anything that Juliet didn’t want her too, no matter how rowdy the crownet conversation was between the duo. She sighed and let herself relax. Turning around to have a look at the photographs on Juliet’s wall. She stared at it. The smile was wide on her lips in the picture, same with Juliets. They were happy then. They hadn’t felt the pain. Yet now they were back in the same room as each other and the pull not to go over there and kiss her was strong, but she kept her feelings tied down.

“I forgot you were a mystic.” She told her as she took a nervous step forward, pushing a strand of brown hair behind her ears. Looking at the woman across from her. So this was Juliet’s new body. She inspected it. She didn’t look like the Juliet she once knew. She was almost mad at herself for not seeing that it was her, new body or not and it made her mad at herself. She raised an eyebrow then as she made her way over to the desk and sat on top of it. Picking up a silver letter opener and twirled the item within her hands.

“Your new body.” She said, trying to form some words. What easy conversation can be said between two people that broke each other – and had essentially moved away from Harper Rock to get away from the other. Something, Jamie was not proud of. She would never be able to forgive herself for up and leaving Juliet – all because of her emotions. She understood them now. She knew when to stay away at least, that was progress, right? “It looks wild.” She said, shrugging her shoulders. “I like it.”

Another pause as her orbs flew to the item in her grasp. “Do I need to call you Cassadee?” She asked curiously as she slowly dragged her orbs up to look at Juliet in the face, orbs studying her. It took all she had within her to not go over there, grab her face and kiss her. Yet, Jamie sat there. Not moving. No, she wouldn’t go down that road again. Jamie wasn’t the best person when it came to relationships. She didn’t deserve them. The person on the other side of the relationship would be treated poorly. She wouldn’t let them go through that. She’d also be saving a lot of heartache for both of them.

[Juliet]

She looked quietly at the woman that had proposed to her, that had made love to her and helped heal so much pain after Aldric had left. A faint smile crossed her lips when Jamie huffed and rolled her shoulders. Her sibling, one of her best friends. It had crushed her when she awoke the day that they had planned to bind to find her gone, but she had waited in an almost hopelessly optimistic fashion and just as she’d started to get over everything, the gorgeous women that had captured her heart had returned. And it had crushed her the second she tried to make everything better. A necklace and an email had pushed things too far, and then Juliet had to get away.

Admittedly, she didn’t feel any bit of that pain now, looking at Jamie.

Instead, she felt the desire to kiss her, to apologize.

“It isn’t as bad as it seems.” The truth, aside from certain things such as Cassadee’s poor nail beds, dry skin and the annoying factor that when Juliet would look into a mirror, she would see the woman’s face staring back at her. She missed her own body. Roderic, Phoenix, and now Jamie. They all hadn’t recognized her, but at least she’d thought to give Roderic warning. She’d just assumed the other two would know. Reanna had acted negatively to it, but she expected it on some level. “Different is good.” A shoulder lifted and dropped, her arms folding in front of her chest as she leaned back into the wall.

Her green eyes moved over the angles and soft curves of her former lover’s form. She’d memorized them so many times, kissed her eyelids and just held her. Juliet didn’t like the distance put between them in the office and stepped closer, moving to sit a few feet away from Jamie in one of the two chairs that faced her desk. Upon hearing the woman’s words, she grinned softly. “Thank you.” Even when she spoke, Juliet didn’t like the differences. Her accent was all wrong to her ears, and to her co-workers, she was sure that she sounded strange when she would swear in Spanish. “I miss the old one, but... at least this one is pretty. And it doesn’t have a penis.”

She was sure if she’d come back as a man, she would have cried.

At the question of what she went by, Juliet gave a shake of her head, “Not when my employees aren’t around, or when we’re in some Altaire thing. I’m still Juliet, Jules. Julie.” She listed off her nicknames, thinking of them. “I might change it eventually if I don’t shift back to my own body, but so far, I haven’t seen anything different. Though, I actually don’t really want to go through the hassle. I like Juliet for my name, and it doesn’t really hurt to have an alias every now and then, I guess.”

[Jamie]

She nodded her head. Twisting around to look at Juliet with her curious eyes. “An alias is good” She told her. It never helped to have an alias. Especially for vampires, they all needed one. Jamie was an alias. “Jamie is mine.” She said. With a slight shrug. “I mean, people had come to realise I was here – they wanted me for murder – even though it had been self defence against the man that tried to…” She paused, trying not to say the word she hated. “Rape me.” Those two words were said with such disgust as she shook her head. “They came seeking me out – well, not here but I knew they were. Someone recognized me. I didn’t kill him in time – so I had to switch up. My past came to bite me in the ***.” She nodded her head.

“So, as far as alias’s go. Cassadee is a good one. As long as you don’t get a friend called Butch or anything. Then you’ll be like that duo from Pokémon.” Okay. She was rambling. What was she supposed to say? She was trying her damn hardest to keep away from what was really on their mind – their past as a couple. They both had questions she was sure of it.

Her eyes downcast again she began to twirl the letter opener again, watching it, running her fingers along its silver edge as she accidently cut herself. It stung like a ***** as she made a scrunched up face before lifting her finger to her mouth and drawing the blood from the wound. Muttering under her breathe.

“I’m glad you didn’t come back with a penis” She said slowly, with laughter in toe. It was a weird thing to say – to say she was attracted to someone with a penis was blasphemy to her. It would be weird – and just a whole world of ew.

[Juliet]

“Was Athena your real name?” She asked, “Or an alias?” Juliet hadn’t learned this bit about her love’s past and she was clearly displeased to hear that someone had tried to harm the woman she adored so violently. It stirred possessive anger in the female, her green eyes flashing in annoyance before she pushed it aside and chewed on the inside of her cheek carefully. She didn’t want to split the skin again, it would just lead to her gagging and gagging on the blood when they were discussing Athena – Jamie’s past would probably be an awkward thing to do. At the mention of it biting her in the ***, Juliet shake her head. “At least you have a nice *** to bite.”

The remark was playful and automatic. She didn’t get the reference and the confusion across her features was genuine. “What is Pokémon?” As she could smell the woman’s blood, Juliet got up from her seat and pulled a handkerchief from her cleavage. It had become a useful pocket, or at least that’s her excuse for storing things in there and lightly, she took hold of Jamie’s hand to pull it away from her mouth. “Are you clumsy with knives now?” The question fell from her lips as she offered the handkerchief. Distance had never been something Juliet had dealt with easily, even if she wanted it.

It’s why in the end, she had turned a gun on herself.

At the mention that Jamie was glad that she was back without a penis, Juliet nodded. She agreed. “Then I suppose I would have been that Butch individual, hm?” She offered a small smile, the look of amusement evident across her features and playing inside her eyes.

[Jamie]

“Athena was my real name. My parents teach greek mythology at the university where I grew up. I guess I got the brunt of their obsession with all things greek.” She gave a shrug of her shoulders. “Jamie. Jamie is my middle name.” She said. She hadn’t really told anyone why she was called Jamie before. To everyone else, Jamie was just an alias. Juliet made the mention of having a nice *** to bite and she found herself laughing at the woman in front of her. Well, once upon a time that *** belonged to her. Right now she didn’t know what they were. We’re they friends? Thought itself stung the woman to her core but she didn’t know what else to say. So, she smiled. “You would know. You have seen my pale, white ***.” She gave the woman a coy, playful smile to boot.

“Pokemon is a cartoon. An anime about people catching things and training them. I used to watch it as a kid.” She shrugged. “I loved it. Always got up early to watch it. Perhaps I’ll have to make you watch an episode in the near future. If you wanted.” She smiled and watched as the woman came closer grasped her hand and wrapping a white handkerchief around her slashed hand and smiled. Still caring, despite their past. It warmed her dead heart. “Yes. Considering I don’t belong to a faction now my skills are rusty. Too much free time, not sure what to do with myself.” That was no lie. Jamie had become a recluse since she had come back and this was the most socialising she had done in a long time. It felt odd.

“You are not butch dear, you are not even the character from the anime.” She frowned. “Far from butch.”

[Juliet]

It took her a few minutes to figure out what to say – she had never known that Athena had been her real name, or had she? Was it something that Cassadee was holding from her to annoy her? “The Goddess of Wisdom and Battle Strategy.” The knowledge was something that she’d remembered only from books that she had read while attending college. Her green eyes studied the woman that would hold her heart eternally, even if she lied to herself about it. “Fitting, as you were a fighter.” She then nodded, it made sense. “I like them both.” Had she said that already? She wasn’t sure and if she could, Juliet would have been blushing as she laughed along with Jamie. A wink was given afterwards, “I would have said creamy, not pale. It has a beautiful complexion to match your beautiful names and personality.”

“I think I remember it, a little bit. April watched something like that... though, I don’t believe it was called Pokemon. Digimon?” Her eyebrows furrowed in thought as she paused in her actions, her fingertips gently brushing against Jamie’s hand in an absent manner. “I miss you, my sinner.” The thought escaped her mind telepathically by mistake without her knowledge and she lifted her head to smile warmly in return. “I would like that a lot.” She felt the shorter strands of brown hair brush against her cheek with the movement and as she listened to Jamie explain, she gave a soft nod. “I just came back and returned to work or spend time trying to repair the years of neglect that this woman,” Juliet motioned towards her body, “would do to her skin. I already had to cut off a few inches of hair because of split ends.”

Although Juliet had never been a girly girl, being dead for some time had made her appreciate certain things, and she knew she had been secretly vain for years. At the words that the woman spoke, Juliet leaned up and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Gracias.” The corners of her lips twitched softly and she looked up into the woman’s eyes for a few moments, trailing down from them to her lips and then back. “You really do look wonderful, Jamie. I’m glad you’re home.”

[Jamie]

She listened to Juliet speak about the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy and found herself laughing. She was a fighter, she was a bounty hunter. Juliet had for a time hated that side of her. She wouldn't come home and she would spend most of her nights in the Eyrie away from her. She never noticed how horrible that must've been until now. She rubbed at her chin nervously. A habit she had acquired since returning from the realms. She had never been nervous in front of Juliet but now she was, she was no longer that blunt woman she had been, the realms had changed her, they had sucked some of her personality away with it.

"Yes. I don't hunt anymore. Not my interest." It was true, sometimes she would just roam the sewers and that would be that. Sometimes she wouldn't even raise her gun to the Paladins. Odd for Jamie now." Only to have Juliet make a comment about her pale ***, and it made Jamie laugh. Hard. "You always did have a thing for asses." She made an effort to wiggle for her too. To show she was still playful.

She leaned in close then and planted a kiss go Jamie's cheek and she didn't know what to do in response, the response would be to return the kiss to the lips. Would it be too soon so instead she smiled at the woman. Planting a kiss to her forehead. Yes, that would do for now. Surely.

"So do you. Your new body is quite fitting, I miss your old body though. She had lips I just wanted suck on day and night." She gave a coy smile.