Absence
~Post Dome~
Their names became common in every household, their story told in every bar, coffee shop and playground. For a while at least, the Dome and the survivors of the Dome were the only thing anyone cared about or talked about. Their faces were plastered on every newspaper, tabloid, magazine and screen. Their story was told, retold and reinvented in every media outlet, on every newscast and talk show. They were frequently stopped on the streets, in grocery shops, in malls by people who wanted to take a picture with them or their autograph. It was surreal. It was unbearable.
They didn't want the fame. They wanted it all to end. They wanted to get on with their lives.
He's surrounded by what the media call his "fangirls". They're all talking, snapping pictures. Of him. Of them clinging on to him. Some of them hug him, hold his hand, kiss his cheek. But the only he notices is that Julia isn't there. She was just standing next to him. Just a second ago. Her hand was clasped tightly in his as they made their way back home. Where the hell is she?
He looks around, over the bobbing heads around him, and he sees her walking into a coffee shop across the street. He shoves his way past the mob around him and rushes across the street and into the coffee shop.
"Julia?" he looks around and she is ordering at the counter.
She turns around, barely acknowledging his presence and goes back to ordering her drink. It was a split second, but he sees it, the anger in her gaze. Barbie drops his head against his chest for a brief moment. He apologizes from the person in line behind her and steps next to her. She ignores him, takes her drink and walks past him. He follows her silently, sitting down when she chooses a small table in the corner of the shop.
"What did I do?" he asks, honestly clueless.
"Nothing," she says, avoiding his gaze, choosing to focus on her drink.
"Then why did you just disappear?" He asks.
Her head snaps up and she's glaring at him, "Oh, you noticed?" she retorts.
"What are you talking about?" he shakes his head.
"You were so busy with all those girls throwing themselves at you, and didn't think you would notice if I disappeared off the face of the planet," she says.
Barbie finally realizes what she is talking about. He drops his head and chuckles. He reaches over and takes her hand, quickly, not giving her time to pull away.
"Are you serious?" He says with a gentle smile, "Julia, I noticed… I notice."
She looked away, not ready to give in to him. She is pissed.
"You think I noticed any of those girls? You think I can remember now what a single one of them looked like?" he asked, "I can't. But I noticed the moment your hand left mine, the exact moment you weren't standing next to me anymore. I felt something is missing."
He looked at her for a moment, silently urging her to look at him. He isn't used to her being the jealous one. He is usually the one getting uneasy when guys gave her a little too much attention.
She finally looks at him, and he can breathe a little bit more easily.
"Do you not notice? How I'm always lost when you're not next to me? How when at night, you get up to go to the toilet or get a drink of water, I wake up immediately and wait for you to return before I can fall back asleep? Even when I am sleeping I can tell when you're not there, when your body is no longer warm in my arms, or your head isn't against my chest... I notice," he says, giving her a small smile.
She bites her lip and moves her hand out of his, and he lets her, dropping his head sadly against his chest. She drags her chair closer to him, ignoring her coffee. He looks up and sees her face a mere inches away from his, the look of anger replaced with one of pure love and a hint of an apology.
"I'm sorry," she whispers, "I don't know what happened… I'm just so…"
"I know, baby, I know," he says softly, "it'll be over, soon, I promise."
"I'm so tired of all of this, of people following us, of paparazzi waiting for us outside the house," she says, and he sees the tears that threaten to spill.
"I know, I know," he says reassuringly, wiping away at the tears.
"I just want to get away, from it all, from everything," she says, "we deserve a fresh new start."
"And we'll get it, I promise," he whispers.
He pulls her closer and wraps her in his arms, brushing a hand over her curls, trying to soothe away her sadness. "Do you want to go home?" he finally asks.
"No," she says, pulling back, and he sees she has a playful smile on her face.
He waits for her to elaborate and she doesn't disappoint. She leans in closer to him, her lips brushing his ear as she speaks, her breath tickling his sensitive skin, "Let's go to a hotel, check in under aliases and spent the weekend in a fancy suite," she says, biting her lip, "and charge it on the government."
She slowly drags her lips against his jaw and any sensible thought he could have had disappears. He groans, taking a moment to collect himself, he gets up quickly, pulling her up with, and rushes out of the coffee shop.
AN: Hey everyone! This was just a little one shot that came to me out of nowhere and I had to write it because it just wouldn't leave me alone. I know that I owe people prompts and I owe everyone a new chapter of A World on Fire. Fear not, I have not forgotten. I hope you enjoyed this. I had a lot of fun writing it.