The Tomorrow People – John x Astrid – Come Back to Me
A/N: This is just happened. This is the first thing I've actually completed since Christmas. With life getting in the way and school eating up all my time, I thought a break was in order. So I watched the finale and loved every minute and I'm praying as we speak for a new season because I NEED MORE JOSTRID. Any fanfiction you want to send my way is also totally cool too. I can't seem to get my fix. So here it is. Enjoy and prepare for a long Astrid speech. Oh. And 'The Drift' is still up and running. I've got plans for that story still so hold on tight. Summer's coming. xoxox
She remembered the last time a gun was threatening her life. Only this time, months after the first encounter with Ultra, it was John holding a gun up to her face, no sense of recollection in his eyes.
He doesn't even know who I am.
Her eyes stung with tears and her hands shook as she raised them slowly in surrender.
"John. John please. It's me. It's Astrid. Don't you remember?"
She knew he didn't. Those eyes that usually held kindness were cold and unrecognizable. Whatever Jedikiah had done to John had gone too deep. Too deep to get him back. And that in itself terrified her. The plan had been simple. John hadn't recognized Cara, Stephen, or Russell in previous encounters. But Cara was sure he'd remember her. So they had tracked him down to a fancy apartment on the upper side of town and sent Astrid in, promising they weren't far if anything was to go wrong. Stephen had been against it. John was dangerous. A paranormal that could kill with no memory of ever being one of the good guys. If he didn't remember them, why in the world would he remember her? But Cara had been persistent. She was sure, with every bone in her body, that John wouldn't hurt her. Yet there she was, standing behind the kitchen counter, terrified of the boy who had once told her he had never been to Queens, as he held a gun aimed right at her heart.
"What the hell are you doing in my house?"
The harshness of his tone made her jump, her hands still up in the air.
"John please. Please put the gun down. It's me. It's Astrid!"
Her voice broke at the last moment, even though she yelled out the last part. Her eyes shut suddenly and she hated everything that was happening.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
After the Founder, it was supposed to be over.
She remembered the blissful two weeks they had exploring the city, showing John everything wonderful that came with being topside and human. She remembered her hand in his, fitting perfectly together. She remembered the subway lessons and the nights at the noodle house, simply talking of what was to come next now that John had no powers. She remembered his smile when he told her he'd have to get a job and hopefully this café he really liked had an opening because the daughter of the owner was cute. She remembered the feel of his leather jacket around her as they sat in the park, people watching the entire morning.
She remembered his lips, and all the good feelings that came with them.
When her eyes opened, she saw him still holding the gun, confusion written all over his clean shaven face.
It was weird really.
John.
Clean shaven.
And she stared at him, willing him with her mind to put that damned gun down because her arms were starting to hurt. But it stayed in the air and he still didn't recognize her.
"I asked you what you were doing here."
At that, she huffed.
"And I asked you to put the gun down! I guess neither of us are very cooperative, are we?"
A small smile tugged at his lips and her heart jumped in her chest. It was small. But it was something.
"One reason why I shouldn't shoot you. You're trespassing."
Finally, her arms went down because something within her told her Cara was right. He wasn't going to hurt her.
"Our friends sent me."
He frowned.
"Friends? What, we know each other?"
And suddenly she wanted to cry all over again.
"Yes John. We do. I'm Astrid Finch. Stephen's best friend. You saved me from a massive Ultra agent attack and I returned the favor by removing a bullet from your side with a sewing kit and a mini bottle of vodka. You helped me overcome my fear of re – entering the world after that attack and told me that everyone dies. I just needed the right shoes for it. We jumped out of a moving subway train and you teleported me back into my living room to prove to me that you were right. And when your powers were taken and you were human, you called me because you didn't know who else to call. You told me the world was going to end and that you were just going to come to terms with it because you were powerless. And I gave you my version of tough love. I told you your powers didn't make you special. Or funny. Or kind. I called you a jerk after and you smirked at me. Then you saved me from getting running over by a taxi. And right there, on the rain slicked sidewalk, I said you were the bravest and stubbornest person I knew and I asked you why you were hiding all of your courage. Then I kissed you. And you kissed me back. And when the world was seconds away from actually ending, you kissed me because you promised me on the subway that the next time you were going to kiss me, you weren't going to just because the world was going to end. So you did. On the roof across from Ultra. And even though you didn't think time stopped, it did. For me. And then we spent two weeks topside together when it was all over and the world didn't actually end. The best two weeks I've ever had since all this madness started. And do you know what happened in those two weeks John? I fell in love with you. The paranormal you. The human you. Every side you showed me and all the sides you didn't. I fell in love with you, you jerk! And you disappeared on me, only to show up again, months later, with no memory and on a killing spree dictated by Jedikiah! And you have no idea how I felt when no one could find you! Nothing made me feel better. Not even your lucky jacket! I waited, day after day, for Stephen and Cara to tell me they'd found you. That you were home again. And when they finally did, they told me you didn't remember anything. You didn't remember. So Cara thought you'd remember me. We tracked you down; she pushed me towards the steps of your fancy new place, and swore I'd be able to get you back. Because we always brought each other back. Always. So please John. Look at me. Look at me and put the gun down because I know you know me. I know you know me!"
Her hands had come to hit the pristine granite of his countertop, the sound echoing in the otherwise quiet apartment. Her chest was heaving, up and down slowly, and she kept looking down, slightly afraid of what would happen if she looked up. When the gun came to rest on the counter next to her, she looked up quickly, John's eyes meeting her own. She gasped, stepping forward.
His eyes were different. They weren't as cold. It's as if…it's as if he…
"You remember."
He stepped towards her and her hands shot forward, as if by habit, reaching out to grasp the bottom of the shirt he was wearing.
"John? You remember? Do you?"
He was frowning, his eyes shooting back and forth as if his mind was grappling with something. She placed both her hands on either side of his face, lifting it up so they could properly look at each other. And when his hands landed on her waist, she suddenly realized she missed the feeling.
"John?"
He focused on her.
"We were people watching. At the park. You…you were wearing my lucky jacket. And then we…got lunch? A – at your dad's café? You dragged me shopping and then the…the noodle house? You ate too many dumplings. But when I brought you back home you invited me up and we…"
He groaned, clutching his head.
"It's okay John. You're okay. That was all right. All of it. I invited you up and…and we stayed up all night talking. You were on the left side of my bed and I was lying against your chest. It was an easier position for whenever I wanted to kiss you."
He looked up at her, smirking like the John she knew. She laughed.
"Don't even start with me John Young. I'd smack you if your head wasn't hurting. Come on, let's sit down."
He collapsed onto the black leather of his plush couch and Astrid decided the ottoman across it seemed safe. She watched him, his movements, as he massaged his temple. He remembered something. Something about his life before the memory loss. And that was good sign. But it didn't mean she couldn't still be wary. When he looked at her again, her heart jumped like it always did. He was so close. Her John. Just inches away.
Kiss him.
She jumped suddenly, Cara's voice loud in her mind.
What?! That was not agreed upon.
She continued to watch Mr. Memory Loss, trying to remain as neutral as she could manage.
You love him Astrid. After all this time, you love him still. If he's really going to remember, maybe the kiss will work.
She rolled her eyes.
This isn't a Disney movie Cara. John might shoot me.
A soft yet irritated sigh came through.
If he doesn't have a gun, make the move. Stephen's getting ansty and we don't know if Jedikiah is nearby. If it doesn't work, you know what you're supposed to do. It's not like you haven't kissed him before. I get cavities everytime I think about how much tonsil hockey goes on between you two. He won't hurt you. Just kiss him.
Astrid sighed, getting up.
"Any concealed weapons?"
John stared up at her.
"Uh…no?"
She smiled.
"Good. At least I know you can't shoot me."
John continued to stare.
"And I'd shoot you because?"
She pursued her lips.
"Besides the trespassing and harassing you with your old memories and basically telling you this whole life you're living isn't the real John Young? This."
He was stiff against her lips at first. Her arms were around his neck and took a few seconds for him to close his eyes and wrap his arms around her. The kiss was like any other they had shared. Passionate and spine – tingling and real. And soon hands were everywhere, clothes were flying, and lips were exploring. Somehow they had made it to his room, the tingle of teleportation still coasting over their exposed skin.
"We've never gone this far…have we?"
Astrid stared at him, all naked torso and piercing eyes.
"No."
He pulled away slightly.
"Then we should stop."
She laughed, an odd sound in his dark room.
"There's my John. Concerned for every single being in the world. If I wanted to stop, I wouldn't have ripped your shirt off. So shut up. Kiss me. And just come back to me."
So he obliged, his lips crashing down on hers hungrily. And even though Cara and Stephen's voices called out to her, Astrid pushed them away, focusing only on John and his body against hers.
When morning came and she teleported back upstairs with breakfast, she found him smiling and still naked, buried under sheets.
"What? Why the smile?"
He shrugged as she put the breakfast down and found her spot next to him again.
"I just remembered something."
She turned, hopeful.
"Yeah?"
He reached over, throwing a strawberry into his mouth.
"Yup."
She kissed him quick before ripping off a piece of the nearby waffle.
"And?"
She felt him smile into her crazy hair.
"I never got to see you breakout. I'm sure that's a story."
She nodded.
"Oh it is. You wanna hear it?"
He pretended to think before capturing her lips with his own, whispering in her ear seconds later.
"Maybe when we're done."
A/N: Ta da! There it is. I'm wired on coffee so if it's a little farfetched, blame the caffeine. I just wanted to write this. So I did. And I hope you liked it. I do. And I may write John's POV for this. Just maybe. LONG LIVE JOSTRID! Lol. xoxox