Title: Second Star
Word Count: 2952
Summary: (World of Winx-verse) Saying Jim was here to keep an eye on Annabelle was safe; it was something that made sense. Him being here for her was not.
Rating: T
Pairing: Bloom/Jim [World of Winx]
A/N: Someday I will acknowledge Bloom for the strong, independent woman she is and stop shipping her with random exes and people who have tried to kill her. Today...is not that day. Takes place post WoW Season 1, but before S2 (which we don't talk about)

It was Tecna that asked Bloom to check the roof of the coffee shop on Alton. Her scanners had picked up a figure an hour or so after closing, and upon reexamination found they were still there.

"It's probably just some employee, but make sure," her voice had echoed through the wrist communicator. "We've had enough excitement for the near future."

Bloom had to laugh at that. "No kidding. I'll keep you updated."

It had seemed simple enough.

She landed silent as a mouse on the rooftop, expecting to face an adversary if necessary. At least expecting to give someone a stern talking to for being out so late at night in such a strange place.

What she didn't expect was the slouched figure, hair tied back in a small ponytail, wearing a jacket that - though she hadn't really thought about because there were more pressing matters at the time - she secretly hated. A hook weapon of some kind was on the ground next to him, beside that what looked like a spyglass.

She obviously hadn't been silent enough. The figure turned its head just enough to see her, and then back across the street without acknowledgement.

Bloom stepped forward, doing her best her sound stern. "Were you waiting for me up here or something?"

"I'm here to ask for accompaniment to the frigid Swiss Alps."

"Jim."

He rolled his eyes, jutting his chin towards the building across the street. "Keeping an eye out. Don't get your wings in a twist."

Curious, Bloom stepped closer to the ledge. The building across the street was full of apartments, some with their lights still on and others with curtains drawn. One in particular was illuminated among dark windows, and Bloom focused in on it. Inside at a desk was a brunette girl scribbling away at something unable to be seen at such a distance. But it wasn't so far away that Bloom didn't recognize her.

"Annabelle?"

"The Queen's servants haven't been around much, but there's no harm in taking precaution. Not when it comes to her." The last sentence was muttered under his breath. "We wouldn't want her gaining the upper hand behind our backs again."

"True enough." Bloom glanced over at Jim, taking in his features. He looked tired. "What about The Queen herself? Has anyone seen her?"

He gave something between a snort and a laugh. "No. Not since our final stance of sorts."

She shivered at the memory; being enclosed in a dark magic bubble, her magic siphoned off until all she felt was cold and fatigue. Her friends seemingly miles below her, forced to fight against her own powers.

And that being the case until a certain someone cut her free.

"Penny for 'em," Jim's voice brought her out of the memory and back to the roof. Somewhere below tires screeched and someone laid on their horn for several seconds.

Bloom sighed, finally taking a seat next to him on the ledge. "Just...Annabelle, Sophie, everyone - they didn't deserve to be brought into this mess. We were searching for the talents to protect them, but we ended up bringing trouble with us."

Jim nodded slightly. "But it's also worth considering how much more trouble they would've been in without your help."

"Hmm," she acknowledged, "but what came first: us, or the trouble?"

"You're asking the wrong person. My knowledge is limited to the World of Dreams and the stars."

Bloom blinked at him. "Stars?"

"Stars," Jim agreed, his gaze going up to the night sky. It was unusually clear; even the smog that usually hung around Gardenia seemed to have faded away. "I was a ship captain before all this nonsense with the queen started. And no captain would last a fortnight at sea without knowing how to navigate the stars."

He trailed off, and raised an eyebrow when Bloom caught his gaze. "You look surprised."

"I guess I am a little." Bloom shifted so she was laying down on the roof, looking up at the sky, her legs still leaning over the edge of the building. "Not about the captain thing; that's...somehow not surprising."

Bloom heard Jim laugh, and Bloom waited for it to die down before continuing. "But...the World of Dreams is a place with magic and evil shaman and dark queens fighting for control in dense forests. It's the complete opposite of life on Earth and yet...we're under the same sky. The same stars. Doesn't that just seem strange to you?"

There was rustling next to Bloom that told her Jim had leaned back on the roof as well. She felt his arm touch hers, and even though they both had sleeves, a shiver went down her back. "We may be different worlds," Jim said, his voice much quieter than it had been before, "but that doesn't change that we're all under the same sky. The World of Dreams is practically a straight line from Earth; we see the same things you do, just reversed.

"And from what I've gathered during my time here...corrupt rulers, strangers in tune with the supernatural - we have more in common than you think."

"Maybe you're right."

"...That may be the first time you've ever said that to me."

She laughed at that. "Don't get used to it."

They trailed off, and for a while the only sound around them was their own breathing and the city below. There was something tranquil about it, which proved to be a striking distinction from what their lives had been a few short days ago; climbing frigid mountains, battling monsters, and facing off against the forces of evil in a fight for the fate of both their worlds.

"Hey Jim?"

"Hmm?"

"How do you keep the stars straight to navigate a ship? Don't you get them mixed up?"

There was a pause. "If you were to focus on them individually, I suppose. But you don't; you focus on the constellations."

She chuckled at that. "I could never get those right when I was little. Trying to see imaginary shapes between bright and less bright balls of light. My Dad tried to teach me once, but I was labelled a lost cause."

There was a chuckle. "Perhaps it's time for a re-introductory lesson, then."

Much to Bloom's shock, she felt his hand slip around her wrist and pull her arm up. She tensed at first, but then realized he was pointing her hand towards a series of stars in the left of her vision. "Now, see this group of stars here?" He guided her hand in a circle around a group of twinkling lights.

"Yeah, but there are dozens in there!"

"Don't focus on the ones further back; if you have to strain your eyes to see them, they don't count. I'm talking about the group at the forefront. How many do you see?"

She paused for a minute. "I see...eight?"

"Exactly. Now," he maneuvered her hand again to trace between the brightest ones, "see how if you wanted, you could draw a triangle with them? That one there at the top, those two at the bottom…"

"Well...yeah. Yeah, I see it."

"Then you've seen a constellation."

Bloom laughed and turned her head to look at him. "That's it?"

"That's it," he agreed, not moving his gaze from the sky. For some reason it gave Bloom the smallest twinge of sadness. "Honestly, it's easier with this."

Jim let go of her wrist, and reached over for the spyglass that was lying next to him. He passed it over to Bloom. "Look through there. It's much easier to see them."

She obliged, and pointed it in the direction he'd guided her hand. "So what's this one called?"

"Andromeda."

"Why Andromeda?"

"Truly interested?"

Bloom smirked, and handed the spyglass back. "You know I wouldn't ask if I wasn't."

He smiled at that; a genuine smile that Bloom so rarely saw on his face. "All right...back in the days of the gods, Andromeda's mother proclaimed herself to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Others demanded she take it back, and when she refused it was decided Andromeda would be sacrificed to pay for her insolence.

Andromeda's mother took her to the sea and chained her to a rock to be sacrificed to a sea monster. But as it approached, the hero Perseus appeared. He was so enamored with her beauty he killed the sea monster, and took Andromeda home to rule as his queen. And, as a result, their subjects dedicated the stars in her honor."

"Wow. And I thought my family had issues."

Jim laughed. "Her mother's there too." Again, Jim took Bloom's hand and circled another cluster of stars. "Cassiopeia, imprisoned by Zeus in the stars."

"Deservedly, I guess."

"Perhaps. I'm sure someone would disagree."

Bloom lowered her arm again, and noticed there were several beats before Jim took his hand away. She looked over again, but he still didn't meet her gaze.

"So which star is the World of Dreams?"

Jim finally looked over at her, surprised. "What?"

"I mean, you can see other worlds from here." Bloom pointed to a small star in the sky with a purplish hue. "See that one? Tecna's from there. It's called Zenith."

Jim didn't respond, but raised his eyebrows like he was impressed. "Are there other planets you know?"

"Uh-uh, I asked you first."

He gave her a sly grin and propped his head up on his hand so he was looking down at Bloom. "You've been listening to me drone on about Andromeda and Cassiopeia. Don't I get to hear your lovely voice go on about nothing for a while?"

Bloom swallowed. Was it just her imagination, or had his tone gone lower? "How about this," said said, and mirrored his pose so they were again eye level. "You tell me which star is the World of Dreams, and then I'll name off every single planet I currently know."

His facial expression didn't change, but after a moment Bloom felt a hand go around her waist. It dragged her close, and Bloom had to grab onto his jacket to keep herself up. She looked at his face, and there was something dancing behind his dark eyes.

"You, love," Jim said quietly, "have to be one of the most stubborn girls I've ever met."

She shivered again. "Jim...did you really come here to check on Annabelle?"

He blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean...that's why you're here right? The only reason?"

He said nothing.

Bloom's eyes went wide, because a lack of admission was an admission in and of itself. Jim saying he was here to keep an eye on Annabelle was safe; it was something that made sense, that could be explained. Him being here for any other reason -

Him being there for her -

She met his gaze again, and after a moment sighed. "Jim, we can't -"

He pressed a finger to her lips - one from his non-gloved hand. The skin was weathered, but warmer than she expected. "Give me one reason why."

Bloom stared at him, at the desire lurking in his eyes, at the way the wind was blowing his bangs across his forehead, at his lips…

She felt her resolve flow out of her like a river, and the only think Bloom could think to say was: "Because both our legs are dangling off the side of a building, and with our luck one of us will fall five-stories to the ground."

That earned her a genuine laugh, and Jim slid himself along the roof until his feet made contact with the concrete. Then he reached down and pulled Bloom up after him. She was about to give him a sarcastic 'thank you' for his efforts -

But then Jim pulled her against him - much closer than they had been previously - and pressed his lips against hers.

Bloom's eyes went wide, and for a moment she felt frozen her brain tried to work out whether this was a good thing, or the start of a path that would inevitably lead to more trouble than it was worth. And then, as quickly as those fears had bubbled up in her chest, they faded away, leaving a warmth that spread down her appendages and made her toes curl. Her eyes slid shut, and she somehow managed to wrap her arms around his neck.

Jim kissed her with as much confidence as he spoke, and at times Bloom could feel him smirk. But she took it as a challenge, matching his intensity as their lips slid together and his hands roamed her back. The intensity slowly morphs into passion, and Jim finally pulls away from her lips, only to start trailing hot, open-mouthed kissed along her throat.

He hit a particularly sensitive spot, and Bloom can't help the moan that escapes her mouth . "Oh god…"

"Just your regular semi-immortal man, but I'm flattered nonetheless."

She heaved, trying desperately to regain her breath. "S...Shut up, Jim."

His lips halted, and a second later Bloom was looking him in the eyes. The intensity there was gone, replaced with something hypnotic and much more lustful. "Make me."

Her chest exploded with fire, and she fisted her hands in his jacket as she crashed her lips against his again. Jim took her in stride, and Bloom felt his gloved hand reach up and take hold of the zipper on the front of her jumpsuit. "You know," he breathed between kisses, "You look awfully hot in that."

"Oh?" she asked, beginning to peel his jacket back from one shoulder. "Maybe you could help me with that."

His lips pressed against hers in short, wet kisses, and Bloom heard the metallic clink of him starting to pull it down. "Well, if you're so instant - "

"Bloom?"

They jumped apart from each other, the lustful haze around them shattering. Bloom's eyes went to door leading inside the building, but no one was there. She looked back at Jim, who appeared just as startled as she was.

"Bloom? Come in Bloom!"

The voice sounded again. From Bloom's wrist.

She looked down at the watch, shining faintly compared to the lights of the city and stars around them. Embarrassment washed over her, and Bloom sat up on the roof, taking a second to regain her breathing. She pressed the butterfly-shaped watchface. "I'm here Tecna, do you copy?"

"There you are! We hadn't heard anything from you in a while. Is everything okay up there?"

Bloom looked over at Jim, his expression now unreadable. "U-Uh, yeah. Everything's fine. No problem at all."

"Great. If you don't mind then, I could use your help back here analyzing some of the data I took on the World of Dreams."

Her heart sank lower. "...Of course. I'll be right there."

The watch beeped, and the light on its face blinked off. As soon as it did Bloom exhaled, putting a hand to her head. She felt exhausted all of a sudden.

There was a sound of scraping shoes, and Bloom looked up to see Jim standing and shrugging back into his jacket. "It seems you have some more pressing matters to attend to."

Bloom bit her lip. "It looks like it."

He offered a hand, and Bloom took it, standing and brushing some dust off her legs. "I...think we got a little carried away."

"It seems we did." He smiled slightly, another genuine one, and reached out to her. Bloom was confused for a minute before she heard the sound of a zipper, sliding back up to the top of her suit. She felt her cheeks redden. "You better go before someone comes looking for you."

"Yeah...I guess so. And you better get back to guard duty."

"I suppose I better."

Bloom nodded, and finally took a step back. She was about to turn away when a thought came to her. "You never answered my question."

"What question?"

"Which star is the World of Dreams?"

Jim stared at her for a minute, then burst out laughing. Bloom half expected a fight, but he turned and pointed at the sky. "It's in the bottom of Andromeda. Those two stars in the bottom left of the triangle: the one on the right."

She followed his finger. "Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning."

His head snapped back to her. "...I wasn't aware that was a phrase used here."

"It's old; from a fairytale…" she trailed off, purposely averting her gaze. "Maybe I could show it to you sometime."

There wasn't a response, and when Bloom looked back that smirk was right back on Jim's face as if it'd never left. "I think I'd like that."

Bloom smiled back, and with that finally turned and walked to the other side of the roof, picking up the pace the closer she got. She jumped off the edge and landed on the building at the other side, and kept running back towards the van.

Bloom didn't bother asking if Jim would be back. She had a feeling she knew the answer.