Request from twitter: Jori and Butterflies

Once Jade and Tori saw a butterfly, and they loved each other.

Rated T.

One Shot.

There was a point in our relationship where I just suddenly realized I was in love with Jade West. Irreversibly, undeniably in love with her. We'd had a bit of a fight that morning about her leaving a pair of dirty jeans in the living room after I'd cleaned up. I was really angry, and Jade did what she did best, shrugged it off.

I was furious, ready to strangle her honestly, because I'd spent so much time cleaning up her shit. I made her sleep on the couch. In the morning she made me breakfast and apologized and we continued through with our plans for the day, meeting everyone at the park to hangout and visit. But they'd all left and it was just Jade and I, wandering through the park.

I was still mad at her, furious, actually. I walked with my hands shoved in my pockets without really looking at her. Eventually I just walked away from her and went up a hill, sitting at the top watching the sunset. When she finally came up she sat right beside me, "I'm really sorry, I know you worked hard to clean up my shit, you always do. And I know I shouldn't have left the pants there and ignored you when you told me to put them in the hamper."

"I know." I retorted, still refusing to look at her.

"I love you, Vega. And I really hate that you won't even look at me. Tori please just look at me." I was so shocked when she said those three works I turned my head. She looked really upset, her blue-green eyes shinning with tears and the most broken hearted look on her face I'd ever seen, "I'm sorry about everything I've ever done to piss you off."

"You love me?" I managed to say, my voice cracking at the end of the question. My eyes burned and my lips quivered and all of the sudden I was bawling and I couldn't see her face straight anymore. She freaked out, saying my name over and over, shaking my shoulders, trying to get me to talk, but I couldn't.

"Please, please, stop crying. I don't know what to do just stop fucking crying please." I remember her saying, and she grabbed my chin and ran her thumb under my eyes and she looked freaked out and I just started laughing and leaned against her and she wrapped her arms around me and just held me, laughing too.

"I love you, Jade."

"I love you, Tori."

I blinked up at her, "why did you say 'too'?"

"Too makes it mean nothing. I love you also, I love you too, it's so weird. You love me, and I love you. It's not an also like returning a favor. It's love and its singular and not returned by given by each person." She kissed my cheek and we just sat there like that while the sun slowly made its way below the horizon. That's when it happened.

A blue and black butterfly floated by, hovering before us. Jade gasped in shock, held out her finger and it settled down for long enough for us to breathe in and out, and then flew off. Jade stared at her finger for awhile after, wondering if that really happened.

It was a Myscelia Cyananthe, a blackened bluewing. Rare in our part of California. Jade had one in a box on her wall, and she's always dreamed of seeing one, and then she had. She'd told me it was the happiest day of her life, because I'd told her I loved her, and that was more special than seeing that damn butterfly.

Looking down at my wrist I gave a huge sigh, leaning my head against a near by tree. I rubbed it absently with my thumb, "I miss you. I love you." I whispered, staring at her name carved in marble stone before me. I smiled at it, almost hearing her say she loved me. Not too, not also, not returning the favor. She loved me, and I loved her. Simple as that.