Timelined after Phoenix Pharms.
Jamie: Jamie pulled up to his office-slash-apartment building and turned off the car. "So... This is it." He swallowed and looked from the building to Jean, fumbling the keys out of the ignition. He wanted her to like it. He wanted her to like the inside. But most importantly, he wanted her to like the bedroom. Like, an hour ago. Jamie cleared his throat and hopped out, running around to open her door. "X-Factor Investigations."
Jean: Jean was still getting used to the idea she was in a car - a cool car - with Jamie. Her Jamie. Or was he? She ran her fingers over the dash as he got out and smiled up at him as he opened the door. "Thanks."
Jean: She dropped her suit jacket onto the seat and got out to take in the building. "I'm happy for you," she finally said, looking back at him with another smile that became a smirk. "X-Factor, huh?"
Jamie: Jamie wrinkled his nose and shrugged, "Yeah... I mean, that was my first undercover investigation, really... The whole X-Factor tournament-fight club thing. And an x-factor in any equation is something you don't see coming. No one ever sees all of me coming. I thought it fit. Too corny?”
Jamie: He pressed the lock, shut the door, and walked up to open the front door of his place. "Ta da!"
Jean: She watched him babble, just enjoying how adorable he was. "It's not," she assured him with a grin. "No cornier than Phoenix Pharms."
Jean: Jean looked up at the tall skinny building. "Wait, this whole thing?"
Jamie: "Um.. yeah?" Oh right. He had thought that wasn't a clever name. It made sense now, though. "I, um... I sold the farm for it. I live upstairs and I work downstairs. It even has two kitchens! They're not quite working yet, but the bathroom sinks are fine for water and I have a mini fridge in the office part."
Jean: "You sold the farm?" She moved closer to where he stood at the door and touched his face. She'd liked that place, knew he'd grown up there.
Jean: She looked past him into the building, taking in the peeling walls and Walmart office furniture.
Jamie: "Yeah." He swallowed hard past the lump in his throat when she touched him. Focus, Jamie! "I couldn't keep taking care of it and become a private investigator... Had to choose, so I chose what I knew my parents would tell me to do. 'Do what makes you happy, Jamie.' So... yeah. And here I am." In his own detective agency with the girl of his dreams who totally seemed okay with the run-down aspect of the building.
Jean: "So," she started, still tracing the lines of his face with her fingertips, her eyes following her fingers. Jean's heart was pounding and she wondered if he could hear it. "Are you?" She licked her lips and met his eyes. "Happy?"
Jamie: Jamie licked his own lips as he watched her tongue flick out to wet her own. "Y-yeah. I'm... I'm pretty okay." He looked back up to her eyes, trying to not let his nerves show on his face. It had been a long time since he had felt this nervous around a woman. Because it had been a long time since he'd been around her. Jamie's eyes fell back to her lips, "Could be better, though."
Jean: "That so?" Jean smirked at him, brushing his hair back from his face. He still had that slightly crazy hair, which made her smile. She could tell he was trying really hard to play it cool, too, and he was a lot better at it than he used to be. Hot.
Jamie: Jamie took a steadying breath and looked back at her eyes, "Yeah. I mean, couldn't you be?" His heart was pounding and all he could think about was getting her upstairs. Watching her writhe beneath him like she used to. He growled low in his throat and gave in, grasping the back of her head as he kissed her, hard.
Jean: Jean didn't get a chance to answer him before he was kissing her, and holy shit did he just growl? She melted into him, fingers winding into his hair. He'd gotten better at this, too, and she really didn't want to think about how.
Jamie: His free arm wrapped around her waist and scooped her close to him, forcing their bodies to press together and he moaned at the feel of her against him. Jamie tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her back to break their kiss then released entirely and scooped her up and started for the stairs. He brought their lips back together once he was sure he wouldn't trip on the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Jean: Jean's eyes closed at the feel of his body so close as she moaned into the kiss. Fuck, she'd missed this. Missed him, and she almost reached out to touch his mind before she could think he may not want that.
Jean: She squeaked in surprise when he picked her up, then giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck and helping him by tucking her legs close in the narrow space. "Jamie!" she laughed, cut off again by his lips on the stairs. The old building was a blur as they went through it.
Jamie: Jamie grinned into the kiss when she laughed, his heart racing with anticipation and joy. Once they were upstairs, he bumped his door open with his hip, crossed the room in two strides, broke the kiss, and tossed her onto the bed. "Yes?"
Jean: She laughed again, looking quickly around his room. It wasn't too bad, considering, but she wasn't worried about it. Jean looked up at him with a bright grin and patted the comforter beside her. "Well, what are you waiting for, handsome?"
Jamie: "Nothing." Jamie didn't sit beside her, though, instead he crawled on top of her, kissing her again as he reached down to undo the button on her skirt.
Jean: "Good." Jean had no problems with this. She felt like she was on fire, and not her usual kind. Her hands slid under that coat, trying to get it over his shoulders as she raised her hips to help him.
Jamie: Jamie shrugged on arm out of the coat, then switched hands on the button to let the other arm go free. Once that was done, her skirt was unzipped and he pulled it off, hands immediately wrapping around her hips. "Jean," he growled, "you good?" Manners would never truly abandon him, it seemed. He didn't know what she liked now. She didn't know what he could be like now.
Jean: Okay, she really liked that growly thing. Fuck. Jean just nodded at him, eyes wide, as she toed off her heels and heard them clunk to the floor. "Jamie," she whispered, almost to remind herself this was real, that she was really here with him.
Jean: She reached for his belt but she really wanted his shirt off too. Dammit, she wanted skin! She whined and shifted in his grip, wrapping her legs loosely around his hips.
Jamie: Jamie smirked and let the press of her legs be a conduit for what he wanted, pressing his hips against hers. He leaned on one elbow and used the other hand to start undoing the hooks on the front of her corset. Once it was undone, he sat up and stripped his shirt, then leaned back down over her to spread the corset apart. Fuck. "Jeannie..." He nipped at the mound of one breast and slid his hand behind her to help raise her to his mouth.
Jean: There was the skin she wanted to see and she ran her hands over his chest before moving back to his belt. This time she got it open just in time for him to pop the closures on her corset.
Jean: She didn't care that he was totally ruining it, because it was Jamie. Jean watched his face, eyes falling closed when his mouth connected.
Jean: "Oh, Goooood," she whined, reaching for his mind automatically. Jamie. It felt as wonderful as his mouth. Familiar, and loved, and hers.... except he wasn't anymore, was he?
Jean: Jean gasped and froze.
Jamie: Jamie grinned and nipped at her skin, starting to move up to her collarbone when he felt her mind in his. It made him hesitate at nearly the same time she did. Jean. He was okay with it. He had missed their connection, but... Damn. Jamie pulled back and gave her a sad smile.
Jamie: He hadn't had anyone in his mind like that since her and it just brought up all of the emotions that he had wanted to keep away. She definitely was the iceberg.
Jamie: He sighed and moved to sit beside her, picking up his shirt to hold out for her to cover herself while he looked away. This was Jean. Not just some random girl. She meant more to him than she probably even knew and he couldn't go about things like this.
Jean: "I'm sorry," she whispered, fighting tears when he pulled away and sat up, struggling to close her corset before noticing the shirt he held up. She took it with a shaking hand and slid it on, scrambling to put her back to the head of his bed and curling into herself.
Jean: God, now she could smell him, was surrounded by him, and he was right here and she'd ruined it. Again.
Jamie: Why was she moving away? He watched her scurry over his bed with confused eyes and then it hit him. He messed things up. Jamie groaned and flopped back onto the bed, staring at the peeling paint on the ceiling while he waited for the blood to return to his head. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe, reaching down to adjust himself with a grimace.
Jamie: After what felt like eons, he turned his head and looked at her. Bad idea. She looked so small and sad and she was in his shirt. He groaned again and looked back at the ceiling. "I can't do this to you, Jeannie. Or to me. It's not fair. I'm sorry."
Jean: Her back was literally against his bedroom wall and she tried to spin any scenarios where this ended well and couldn't. For just a moment when she'd touched his mind it'd felt so right, like he'd wanted it too... but obviously not.
Jean: Although she hadn't looked up at him, she knew where he was, could feel his presence, the turmoil in his mind. When he started talking, it was almost worse than just listening to him breathe.
Jean: Jean just nodded against her knees, hiding behind her hair and his shirt and biting down on her lip. Don't. Fucking. Cry. Again.
Jamie: "Jean..." He pushed to sit up and moved close enough to cover the top of one of her feet with his hand. "Jeannie... Please look at me."
Jean: She tried not to flinch at his touch and drew in a gasping breath. "I can't," she got out, proud that even though it sounded weird it was understandable.
Jean: Good job. Now keep going. She sucked in another breath to continue. "Becausemytherapisttotallytoldmetonotcrybecauseitsemotionallymanipulativebutijustreallywannacry!"
Jean: Fuck.
Jamie: Oh no. The really long word tactic. He knew that one well. "Um. You're not manipulating me if it's really how you feel. It's only a manipulation if you're doing it on purpose to get something from someone else." Right? That sounded smart. Let's go with that. "Jeannie, why do you want to cry?" Maybe it was the same reason he wanted to... But he hadn't been able to cry in years.
Jean: She frowned at her kneecaps. That did sound right, actually.
Jean: Unclenching her fist from his shirt, she felt for his hand on her foot. Maybe she couldn't look at him without bawling, but maybe she could answer him?
Jean: "Because," she sniffed, taking a deep breath. "I fucked things up. Again."
Jamie: "You did?" Jamie grasped her hand when she found his. "I did." He looked down and sighed, "I don't want to treat you like a random fling, or like someone I just met. You deserve more than that. I can't do this to you." Not to mention it would be harder on him to let her go again. Again. Wait. She had said that, too. "What do you mean 'again'?"
Jean: Jean sniffled. "When I tried to link with you-" She shook her head. "I wanted to feel you... b-but you..." His words were crossed with hers and took a minute to sink in. "Again... you know..."
Jamie: "But I... wanted it too," he finished. "I meant it when I said I'd missed you. But it's... difficult for me." Jamie looked down at their hands and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. "When you," he swallowed hard and took a breath, "when you ended things... It felt worse than being burned alive. Because at least then, I had hope that I would see you again. But, you didn't want to see me again. So... yeah."
Jean: Jean was confused enough to look up, watching him as he spoke. "I never said I didn't want to see you." She sniffed back the tears, blinking rapidly because she was totally going to ruin her mascara for the second time today. "When I ended things? You didn't want to see me."
Jamie: Jamie frowned at her, "Nooo... I just wanted to take a few days to get my mind in a better place from finding out that not only did you fuck another guy, but it was the guy who fed me to the cannibals and ate me himself like I was a fucking side of roast beef!" Oh, that was actually not how that went down. Must remember to write that one in the journal later. Analogy stands, though.
Jamie: He took a breath to try and move his mind from being eaten. "And then you tell me that I was too clingy and couldn't take it anymore. Which meant we were donezo."
Jean: "I didn't know!" She sat up and the tears she'd been holding back started. "God, Jamie, you thought I wanted to fuck a cannibal?!" She covered her face again and nearly gagged at the memory. "And once I knew what he'd done, and to you." She was crying in earnest now.
Jamie: "No! Of course not! It was just..." Keep your cool, Madrox. Jamie let his head fall back on his neck so he could look at the ceiling again. He refused to cry right now. "It was just a lot for me to take in at once. I needed some time. Not a broken heart."
Jean: "I never wanted to hurt you with that," she sniffled. "It was my fault. My mistake. That's why I never told you." Jean's voice was a little muffled by her hands.
Jean: "And you wanted me to fuck off. So I did."
Jamie: "No, I didn't!" Jamie took a super deep breath then turned to look at her. Oh, she wasn't looking at him again. Well, to be fair, he wouldn't look at him either. But he did want to look at her. Jamie scrambled up to be on his knees, then scootched close enough to take her hands away from her face. "Jeannie... We can't do this again. Tell me what you wanted then. And tell me what you want now."
Jean: She found her hands yanked away and sniffled, knowing she had to look like a half-dead raccoon. Again. There was that fucking word again. Argh!
Jean: "I wanted you...us," she said quietly, gaze wandering around the room until she finally met his eyes. "I-I wanted you to forgive me... but I know... what I did?" She shook her head. "So I left."
Jean: "My therapist said I had to forgive myself..." She rolled her watery eyes. "As if. And something about unresolved feelings and that I shouldn't call the love of my life an idiot..."
Jamie: He sat quietly while he listened and sat quietly a bit longer while he processed what she said. Jamie's heart was pounding and he carefully replayed what she said in his head. Yep. Not a hallucination. Maybe. Which part to address first? Just ...dive right in? Or go with the parts that might make her feel better? Diving right in was always his style and why fix something that ain't broke. "Love of your life?"
Jean: Jean was doing a replay in her own head too, of the fight she'd tried so hard to block out. For years.
Jean: After a moment, she looked back up at him. She couldn't read his face anymore and she didn't like that. Plus her emotions were so fucked up she couldn't tell jack about his.
Jean: She gave him a jerky nod, waiting for... whatever.
Jamie: Her nod made the corners of his mouth twitch. More on that later then. "I forgave you for Quire a long time ago, Jean. I really did only need a few days." Jamie let go of one hand to reach up and wipe some mascara stained tears away with his thumb. "It was the rest that took a long time to heal. I thought you didn't want me anymore."
Jean: "You did?" She sniffed again and searched his face. She thought he'd almost smiled. A few days? Really? He'd meant that? Jean closed her eyes. Maybe he wasn't the idiot here after all.
Jean: She caught his hand and held it, pulling it toward her chest to hug like a teddy bear and bowed her head over it. "I thought... you couldn't love me anymore."
Jamie: Jamie gripped her hand tight and used the momentum of her pulling his arm to move him to sit beside her, wrapping his other arm around her shoulders. "Jeannie," he whispered, "I never stopped loving you."
Jean: "Never?" She licked her lips and looked at him.
Jamie: "How could I? You were everything to me." He smiled down at her, "The 'love of my life' as you put it."
Jean: "Oh shit... I'm the idiot," she whispered, looking up at him.
Jamie: "We were young and dumb, Jeannie," his voice was soft, but he didn't bother to hide how he felt. "And whether we wanted it to or not, life moved on... And now you own a dispensary and I'm a real detective." Jamie smiled down at her. So green. "But for what it's worth? I'm the idiot for not going after you."
Jean: "Has it moved on too much?" She bit her lip again, nose wrinkling, and wriggled to face him so she could raise her other hand to his face. "Jamie, I don't want to lose you again."
Jamie: "You never lost me. You just didn't know you still had me is all." Jamie closed the small distance, kissing her softly. "I love you, Jean Anne Grey. I always have. And if I've ever said anything that made you think otherwise? I lied."
Jean: "I love you, too." She quickly returned the kiss, but pulled back to wipe away her tears with a self-conscious laugh. "I'm a mess right now, but I'm your mess." She pulled up his hand and kissed it.
Jamie: He grinned and waggled his eyebrows, "A hot mess." Too far? Nah. Just right.
Jean: Jean giggled. "A raccoon mess right now."
Jamie: “Sorry about flirting with Redd... I didn't know. And, I guess I kind of have a thing for redheads," he waggled his eyebrows again.
Jean: She laughed and flung her arms around his neck, her corset sliding free to drop off the bed behind her. "It's okay. She's hot... and I do, too."
Jamie: Jamie wrapped his arms around her waist and fell backwards, thrilled to have her holding onto him again. Then he looked at her with a cocked head and eyebrow, "I don't have red hair..."
Jean: "No, but she does..." She gave him a wicked grin and giggled at his flop, freeing a hand to brush his dark hair back from his face. She'd missed him so much.
Jamie: "So... am I sharing you, then? Or would you be sharing me?"
Jean: Now her eyebrow went up. "Why? Are you into that now?"
Jamie: "Um. N-no? Unless it's okay with you? B-because I-I totally don't want to upset you. Ever."
Jean: She hadn't been sure how she felt about sharing herself until he said no. Relief. That was definitely relief. She shook her head slowly. "I don't want to share you."
Jamie: Jamie shrugged with his head, "That's good then. I don't play well with others, apparently. Except, you know... All of myselfs."
Jean: Jean giggled. "And me."
Jamie: That giggle was music to his ears, "And you." Jamie lifted his head and nipped at her lower lip. "Most definitely you."
Jean: She wound her fingers into his hair and kissed him. Is this okay? she asked, giving his mind a gentle touch as well.
Jamie: More than. He felt himself melt under her attentions. I missed it, Jeannie. I missed you. I missed us.
Jean: Me too. She was already mostly naked on top of him so she decided to make herself at home again. She slid her legs to either side of his hips and moved her kisses from his lips to his throat. I missed you so much.
Jean: Now, she could feel his emotions again and share hers. It made her want to cry some more, but for much happier reasons.
Jamie: You don't have to miss me anymore. Jamie groaned at her mouth on his neck and raised his hips up to meet her. He still had pants on and he dearly wished he didn't. His chest felt tight and his eyes felt hot and he pulled away from her to look at her with a frown. "Is that me or you?" He sniffed for emphasis.
Jean: "That's me, sorry." She sniffled and gave him a bright watery grin, sitting up and unbuttoning his pants. You're so gorgeous, she paused unzipping his pants to admire him. He was older, harder, but still her Jamie.
Jamie: Jamie propped up on his elbows and arched an eyebrow at Jean, "I think that's my line, babe." He couldn't help but smirk as she looked him over, though. "I may or may not have sent out some dupes to learn some stuff... that, of course, then I learned when they came back. Some of it wasn't so nice."
Jean: "What kind of not nice? ...because whatever ab routine they learned you need to teach me, too." She wanted to lick those abs, and she let him know it.
Jean: Jean wriggled her ass further down onto his thighs to get his pants open.
Jamie: Jamie made a rumbling noise low in his throat at the desires Jean was sending. "Lots of nasty things, Jeannie, but some of them are responsible for the abs." He watched her with hooded eyes and lifted his hips to help her with his pants. "More on that later, though. More of this now."
Jean: Ooooh, she liked those noises, too. "Yeah, later..." Jean shuffled back down the bed and dragged his pants and boxer briefs down his legs, taking in everything she'd been missing.
Jean: She was definitely the idiot.
((time passes))
Jean: Jean giggled and rolled onto her side to take her place at his, her fingers tracing little patterns across his chest. They were both sweaty and gross and she hadn't been this happy in years.
Jamie: Jamie grinned stupidly and wrapped both arms around her. "Are we like... linked, or whatever, again? Or did you just do that for the sex? Not that I'm complaining if it was just for the sex." Definitely not complaining. That was great.
Jean: "I can make it permanent." She pressed her palm over his heart, feeling the beat as it returned to normal. "I'd like to make it permanent again." Jean wriggled a little to see his face from an awkward angle, mostly scruffy chin, but she didn't mind. Her head had been too empty without him, with only that fucking bird for company.
Jamie: Jamie lifted his head to kiss her forehead, then laid back down, staring at the ceiling again as he thought. He did like feeling her with him all the time. But... would that make him dependent on her again? And what would happen if she found out about his random sex friends that he would need to break things off with? "Um. Maybe we should just see how this goes first?" Probably not the best wording.
Jean: Jean froze, replaying their conversation from before the amazing sex.
Jamie: Uh oh. He held her tighter. "I mean... What would happen if I got dependent on that link again? I want to be with you without having you be my safety net." Better wording.
Jean: She relaxed, if only marginally. This was her own fault, wasn't it? She wiggled to get loose enough to actually see him.
Jamie: Jamie let her loose, but not completely. Holding her felt right. He raised his eyebrows in question when she looked at him. "Yeees? Oh wait! I know. Don't tell me. You want chocolate. No, that's not right." He made an overly exaggerated thinking face, "A dog? ...no, still not right..." Light bulb face! "You want more!" At that, he lifted his head to kiss her and shifted one hand to stealthily tickle her on the rib he remembered was her sweet spot.
Jean: Jean was starting to remember why she'd called the love of her life an idiot. She'd paid that therapist a lot, and dammit she was about to get some use out of it.
Jean: She jumped at the surprise tickle, which was so not fair, and managed to duck under a tentacle arm to sit up and look at him.
Jamie: Aaand then his arms were empty and so were his lips. He let the arms fall heavily to his sides but slowly pulled his lips back in from a rather large pucker.
Jean: She closed her eyes. A ridiculously cute idiot. After a ten count, Jean opened her eyes again. "Jamie," she said, in what she hoped was serious-but-not-bitchy voice.
Jamie: Jamie propped up on his elbows and tilted his head in question. That was a new tone from her. "Jean."
"I know I wasn't always the best girlfriend to you." She wrinkled her nose, recalling several incidents, including turning down his marriage proposal. "Okay, I was pretty terrible sometimes."
Jamie: He wrinkled his nose as he remembered things, too. Pretty much her doormat. Yep. "Uh huh? And?"
Jean: She tilted her head. Her eyebrows rose. Well, at least he knew? "I never told you I was sorry, for any of it." Jean took a shaky breath. "But I was. I am."
Jamie: Jamie grinned at her and sat up, taking her hand to kiss it. "I never cared about any of that, Jeannie. But, since you feel like you need to apologize, then, apology accepted." He tilted his head a bit, "Should we learn who we are now before we commit to anything? You seem different and I know I'm different."
Jean: That was remarkably sensible of him. She narrowed her eyes and looked him over. This was Jamie Prime, right?
Jean: "You are different," she said, turning her hand to hold his. "But so far I like it." Jean sighed and moved close to him again. "Okay."
Jamie: He gave her his goofy grin and leaned down to kiss her. "Okay." He pulled back, "And for the record, I like it so far, too."
Jean: "Since we're on the record, I cared about all the times I was a bitch to you." She slid her arms around his neck and crawled into his lap. "I'm working on it."
Jamie: "Jeannie," he scolded lightly, "we were young, dumb kids. And I was happy to do whatever you wanted so long as you looked at me the way you looked at me when I first saw you today." He held her close and breathed her in, "I have loved you since you taught me about alien tomatoes."
Jean: Her photographic memory had a few chemical developing errors, but after a moment she remembered. "Jamie..." She moved just enough to see his face again and freed a hand to touch his cheek. Her eyes were burning again, dammit. "That was the first time we met."
Jamie: He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, so he just shrugged, "I know." It was a good thing for him, so he smiled then. "And that's for the record, too."
Jean: She shook her head and let it fall onto his shoulder. "I, like, really, really don't deserve you."
Jamie: "Everybody deserves someone who will love them the way I love you, Jeannie." Jamie turned his head to press a kiss to hers. "And I'm pretty sure I've said that before, but I'll say it as many times as you need to hear it."
Jean: Jean smiled and cuddled into him. "Exactly, so you deserve that too, and this time I'm not gonna fuck it up." She shook her hair back to look up at him. "Okay?"
Jamie: Jamie gave her a broad smile and brushed her hair off of her face. "Okay."
((Uncut Version))