July 27, 2074
Hands that have seen untold battles, wielded untold guns and rifles and knives, caressed that long golden hair of hers untold times now, and smoked untold numbers of cigarettes let the room's curtains fall back silently. Brooding out at a city that's only done him and his woman relative deadly harm isn't going to solve anything, and while he's good
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Eyes softening, he takes a moment to just study her face. She's so beautiful. Those eyes... he saw them every day for three years, every time he closed his damn eyes to rest, and when he didn't do that he spent his time looking for them. For her. By some damn twist of fate he's found her, and like hell is he letting her go.
He loves her.
"Three" (five) "years ago, I had a hell of a plan. Maybe it's about time we made use of it." There's no recrimination, no you said you'd show up and didn't, none of that shit. It's more a case of why waste something good? "I always did like the idea of disappearing."
That makes him smile.
Sure, he could lie to her and tell her the Dragons here are making things uncomfortable, or that he's heard rumors from Mars that make it seem like now's as good a time as any to get going while the going's good. Or he could tell her the truth about what he discovered, but that's never going to happen. He's not dead, and neither is she, and there's no shortage of ways to prove it. Maybe finally living the dream he had for so long as is good a way as any.
"Want to disappear together this time?"
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She has no intention of going back to 2071 if she can help it. Things are falling apart there, and she knows she'd have her work cut out for her in trying to stay alive. The hunt is in earnest. As long as she stays in this time, she has Spike, she lives without the shadow of Vicious two steps behind, she has Gren. She has relative freedom.
There's no reason they have to stay at this hotel to be together.
Her arms wrap around him. "Where are we going?"
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He's never quite as warm, quite as content, quite as complete when they're apart and he knows it. He knows it real well.
"How's Europa sound? There's this great little town there, tucked away into the side of a mountain overlooking a river. Filled with all kinds of creatures. None of them are red or dragons." That's Blue Snakes turf and they both know it, one of the last fucking places anyone would come looking for them. A surprise Dragon attack would be impossible -- the Snakes keep too tight a rein on things for that -- and if they keep a low profile, no one needs to know who they are or what they were. And for once in his life, he's got plenty of cash.
Hell, he'd go there with her in a heartbeat. Leave today if she wants.
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Not many places wouldn't sound good, she thinks, but Europa is a nice change. It's greener than she's used to, and it's a spot in the star system where the Dragons have no real foothold. She thinks it would be a welcome difference for both of them, no matter how long he wants to stay there.
When it comes right down to it, nothing would give her greater joy than traveling the system with him, not because they have to but because they want to.
"Not as much as I like you," she acknowledges, tucking her head against his shoulder so her face rests centimeters from his neck, "but it's nice." She smiles. "I plan to stay with you as long as I can."
She doesn't have to cut all ties to do it, and she doesn't intend to.
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"Hey. That makes two of us." If he was the kind of guy who danced, he might just dance her around the room. He's usually more subtle than that and while he knows how to move, the moving he does with her is a little more private.
"You want to go soon?" He doesn't give a backward glance to the window and the city beyond, but he knows he doesn't have to. Julia just made him the happiest damn humble bounty hunter in the whole damn solar system and if that kind of thing doesn't deserve itself a kiss, he's not sure what does.
It's a really nice one, too.
For his money, he could be out of here in a day. They have the Swordfish, and he doesn't need a hell of a lot of things. One thing he knows for sure is that he feels a lot lighter than he has all damn day, and that's all due to the magic in the words she keeps saying to him.
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"Why not?" There's nothing keeping them from going whenever they want, and even after all the time she's spent here she still lives minimally. She never personally decorated her apartment, she only bought the clothes and ammo she needed, and her only real keepsake is the angelfish statuette. She may buy a new bag to pack, but she knows how to pack quickly and she wouldn't need much time. There's only one thing that's truly a necessity in her eyes before they go. "I'd like to keep Gren in the know."
If she didn't know Gren was doing better and that his relationship with Faye wasn't at the same unfortunate place it was a few weeks ago, she'd be more worried about him.
If he'd mentioned going back to Callisto again, she'd be more worried about him. But he hasn't, and she hopes it stays that way. He's always welcome wherever she is, and if possible she'd like to extract a promise from him: if he decides to go back to Callisto, she wants him to let her know first no matter where she happens to be at the time.
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"Sure." Gren's okay in his book; the guy went above and beyond that day at the import/export store but beyond that, he and Julia are friends. He might ask her to roam the solar system with him, but he's not going to ask her to give up her friends. That would be stupid.
It's not like there's any particular urgency to this, but he knows he'll feel better when he puts a little more space between them and the possibility of going back to whatever the hell happened in 2071. He didn't read the details; there's shit he really doesn't want to know. The detail of his death is sure as hell one of them, especially since it looks like he's cheated it for the time being.
They both have.
Brushing back her hair, he presses a kiss to her temple.
"Love you, Julia." Slowly, he nods. "Tell Gren whatever you need. Hell, tell him he's always welcome wherever we end up." They can set up a spare room for him and everything: he won't mind.
Since he was fourteen years old, he's never lived free of the shadow of the Dragons. It's about fucking time they both had a chance to do it.
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Looking straight into his eyes, one lighter than the other, still dizzied, and that hasn't changed.
"I will." Straightening to her full height, she smiles for him -- she almost can't help it -- and rests one hand against the side of his face. "How long have you been thinking about this?"
He never mentioned it before; they've traveled together on a smaller scale, but that's all it's been. This seems more like an idea that's blossomed recently.
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"You know me. Always thinking." Maybe not always thinking smart or thinking clearly, but always thinking. "About leaving here? Today, mostly. About how to keep you safe in general? Always." Hell, he cares about her safety more than he does his own and that's always been the case. "Since the day I met you back on Mars." With utmost fondness, his thumbs trace the lines of her cheekbone. "Never wanted to do anything without you." And he screwed over his best friend to get what he wanted with her. Of course, it was pretty much a mutual screwing-over; neither he nor Vicious were all good or all bad. Only all human, and no human can really tell their hearts what's right or what's wrong. So he fell in love with his partner's woman? That's his bullshit to figure out, and any guilt he might have had over it disappeared a long fucking time ago.
"But you know me. I get an idea in this thick skull of mine and it sticks."
Just like she did all those years ago.
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"It's a nice thick skull," she offers generously, amused affection in every word. Spike is hardheaded. It can be a weakness, but it's at least as much of a strength where he's concerned.
She didn't always think so, but it's been a long time since then. And that thick skull may be why they're together today, so... it's difficult to find fault with it in the here and now.
The lesson she takes away from every meal they have together, every night she spends in his arms, and every trip they take together is be with Spike. She'll be with him until the end, whatever it is: the end of her life or until the end of his or until this dream ends. She's come too far for anything else.
"I can be ready in a few days."
The truth is she needs much less time than that to be ready in the strictest sense, but regardless of the pointed invitations she intends to leave Gren with she wants to spend some time with him before they go. He's practically her neighbor here, living one floor above her, someone she can lure out to her place during a blackout for mutual companionship and conversation.
Gren's presence has always spoiled her.
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"A few days." It's not a question, more an echo. "Sounds good."
A long time ago, he learned that getting sentimental about places was about the most futile thing a guy can do. It's not about where he is and never has been: it's about who he's with. A few days will be good: it will give him a chance to say goodbye to Faye -- after a fashion -- and it'll give Julia a chance to work things out with Gren and anyone else she wants. It's good. And this time, there won't be any waiting for her to show up, no smoking pack after pack of cigarettes while the harsh cold reality finally hits. He won't have to take off by himself and wonder where the hell she is for three more years.
It's kind of a dream come true. He rests that nice thick skull of his against her hand, smiling at the possibilities looming before them. It's the stuff of dreams -- he's wanted something just like this for years -- and this time, it's a dream that gets to come true.
In the meantime, he can think of a few ways to spend a couple days. Maybe they can even do things backwards: pretend they're having a honeymoon, then go off like a couple newlyweds. He's loved her for a long damn time, and the way that feels just keeps getting better and better.
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