A/N This is the final chapter. Thank you for all of those of you have been reading. I hope you have enjoyed it and I hope this gives Julian the ending he deserves.
Chapter 7
Six weeks of sleepless nights. Six weeks of trying to do what she had promised and move on. It had been strangely hard to break the habit of visiting the dream world, waking herself up every time she went there, because it was always empty. Six weeks of that longing sitting in her chest, like a sharp ache, that she just learned to live with, fearing that if she moved on he might come back. Then it was summer break and she was back staying with her parents and being invited to Audrey and Michael's engagement party.
The party was not fun. She decided to wear a knee-length summer dress of white, loving how floaty it felt around her, which turned out to be a bad idea. As she walked through the door people stared…lots of people. Dee pushed her way through the gaping mouths and threw her arms around Jenny in a hug before running her eyes over her outfit.
"Sunshine, you look great." Jenny raised her eyebrows at Dee and the other girl shrugged. "Very Other Worldly. It suits you," but Jenny saw the flash of a look in Dee's eyes. The not-quite-sure look. Cautionary. "Ignore these idiots." She hooked her arm in Jenny's and pulled her off to find Audrey.
It continued though.
"Jenny!" Audrey pulled her into a hug after taking a second to regain her composure. "You look positively…"
"Ethereal." Michael finished, staring. Audrey glared and pinched him.
"Ow!" he pouted. "I was just saying. She looks different."
Jenny flinched. "Thanks?" She was beginning to wonder just how much Julian had been wrong when he talked about a 'normal' life and how right at the same time. Had he realised how she was changing the longer she spent with him? Her college friends didn't seem to notice though. Maybe it was because these guys hadn't seen her for so long that they only saw the change.
It got worse.
Audrey shook her head. "Ignore him. Look. Bad news is we had to invite Tom. Really bad news is he brought someone else with him." Jenny felt her heart sinking further. How soon could she politely leave? "Good news is we have a friend here to introduce you to."
Jenny felt herself pale. She caught Dee's eyes, trying to transmit 'help!'. She didn't want to be set up.
Dee merely grinned at her. "Knock 'em dead Sunshine," and disappeared into the crowd.
The next hour or so was socially painful as Jenny tried to convince Audrey otherwise but the girl wouldn't take no for an answer. She had made up her mind that Jenny was pining for Tom and only details about Julian would have been able to convince her that it was a different boy that was the problem. Details Jenny couldn't give for obvious reasons.
Their friend was a lovely guy, which meant that Jenny felt she owed him to say that, truthfully, she wasn't interested. He looked crestfallen. She walked away, feeling horrible, not in the least because she had promised Julian that she would try and move on.
Her eye caught Zach's across the room and she raised a hand in greeting, as he turned his back on her and walked away. Jenny felt her insides tighten. This was ridiculous. She didn't need to put up with this. She wished her college friends lived closer so she could go and see them and settled for calling a couple of them the next day to organise a meet up. For now, though, she was going home.
At the door she bumped straight into Tom and his new girlfriend.
"Hi Tom," she managed to say calmly. Tom was staring at her like everyone else that evening, but with a little more intent. His girlfriend glared at him and then at Jenny before jabbing him.
"Hi," he managed, running a hand back through his hair. "How are you? You look…erm…good."
Of course, it was the first time he'd seen her since before the break up.
The girlfriend was clearly getting angry and Jenny could understand why. She knew the way Tom was looking at her because he had looked at her that way when they were together. She was beginning to get angry herself.
"I am thanks," she said, adding, "I'm heading home now," and with an acknowledging nod to her replacement, she escaped.
Jenny returned to her parent's house without incident except for the twist of her insides that had followed her from the party. She felt a shadow on her mind like her friends had draped a net of dark gauze over her thoughts. Jenny shook her head and started up the stairs to her bedroom, determining that she would message her college friends and have a swim to clear the heaviness that had settled over her.
The knock came at the front door just as she reached the top. Her eyes flicked to the clock and then the window. It was a little late for visitors even if it was still only just getting dark, unless one of her friends had followed her from the party…
"Please don't be Tom," she muttered out loud as she cautiously retraced her footsteps and opened the door.
It took a split second for it to register who was standing there.
"I don't think green is your colour," she said coolly, referring to his two-piece suit of different shades.
"It matches your eyes so beautifully though Jenny," Julian replied with his usual confidence.
She reached out a hand to touch him and hesitated.
"Are you really here?"
Julian nodded, tilting his head to her so the fading light flashed dull silver over his hair. "In the flesh. Literally."
He held out his own hand and gently took the one she had left hovering. The second she felt his warm skin brush her own she felt tears hot and ready to fall.
"What took you so long?" she whispered as her voice broke and with a tug of his hand she was in his arms. It was real. He was real. His arms solid around her, anchoring her, somehow soothing the fears inside that had plagued her since he had vanished.
"I was beginning to think I'd imagined it all," she murmured, as she stared into his intense blue eyes. Julian smiled and kissed her. The fire was there, and the heat that had made her forget herself many times all those years ago, but now there was light in it, and love, so that instead of forgetting she remembered. She drew back, her face lit up with a smile, and he gazed at her in wonder, running her hair through his fingers.
"I'm not going anywhere," she grinned, "no tricks this time."
He kissed her again, so sweet she felt her insides burn. "Wrong," he purred, "you're going in the house with me."
He nudged her in the right direction and with a laugh Jenny pulled him inside after her, kicking the door shut.
"Did your suit just change colour?" she stared at the now red shades.
"Ignore it," Julian sighed, "hazard of the job. It will turn blue in a minute." He moved to kiss her again, but she put a hand of his chest to stop him.
"I want to," she smiled at his hurt look, "but I have some questions."
Julian lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the palm, featherlight.
"Of course you do Jenny," he smiled against her skin. "Brave. Beautiful. Independent. Jenny. What would you like to know?" He drew her back into his arms and punctuated every sentence with little kisses that left her dizzy. "I am a Sandman, one of many. I'm sorry it took me so long to come to you. Morpheus doesn't like unexpected surprises turning up. That god is such a diva. Took him forever to decide he could use me after all."
Jenny made an encouraging noise, distracted by the kissing and Julian took the opportunity to kiss her more thoroughly.
"I think the real question you want to ask though," he continued, slightly breathlessly, "is that, yes, I am physically here, and yes, we can be together. If you still want to?" He said it lightly, but she could see the fear in his eyes.
"Julian," she placed her hands on his face in a caress, "I love you. Of course I want to."
His gaze focused heat on her and the next few minutes were lost in a haze of kissing and touching.
The knock on the door broke the spell. Somehow they had ended up on the sofa, Julian's now blue jacket tossed on the floor, top few buttons of his shirt, the colour of his eyes, undone, hair a dishevelled mess. Jenny grinned up at him.
"I like that look."
Julian smiled back slowly, like silk and velvet, voice like a wind ruffled sea. "Well, I had given you the option multiple times…"
She didn't bother to argue that it wouldn't have been like this. They both knew that now was the right time, the only time, for them. It could not have come sooner than now and still be as pure. She was about to kiss him again but the knock repeated.
"I need to answer that."
With a sigh they untangled themselves and Jenny padded to the door, trying to fix her hair as she went.
It was Tom.
"Jenny, I made a terrible mistake."
She couldn't do anything except stare at him, her mind completely blank, like a stalled engine. The irony hitting her like a punch to the stomach.
"I am so sorry Thorny. I made a mistake. Seeing you this evening made me realise what an idiot I had been to let you go. Please forgive me. Take me back."
It took her a moment longer before she finally found her voice. "I can forgive you Tom," his eyes lit up, "but I'm not taking you back. I don't love you. I'm with someone else now."
That stumped him.
"What? But Thorny…who?"
She sensed the moment Julian appeared behind her, but even if she hadn't, the look on Tom's face would have told her he was there.
"Tommy-boy. It's been a long time." His tone was free of all malice and gloating, and Jenny realised that this was the first time they had met where Julian could be confident of the one thing they had both wanted; Jenny's love. She glanced at him out the corner of her eye and saw that he hadn't fixed his dishevelled state, and was also sporting a roguish grin. He wasn't completely above gloating then…and had he undone a couple of extra buttons? She almost giggled but didn't.
Tom looked horrified.
"Him? He? Him?"
Jenny smiled then, so happy her heart was full. "Yes. Julian. Him. Here. With me." She was happy that she had Julian. Happy that she could show the impossible was possible, despite their negativity.
Tom was looking like he wanted to physically attack the ex-Shadowman but didn't quite dare.
"It was nice seeing you Tom," Jenny said firmly. "Good luck in the future. Bye."
She shut the door with finality.
Julian was smirking at her and she folded her arms.
"Feeling good about that are you?"
"I'm not going to lie Jenny. That felt pretty amazing." He cut her a look. "You enjoyed it too."
She couldn't keep the corners of her lips from twitching.
"So, what next?" she asked lightly.
Julian leaned back against the wall opposite her in his now-white suit.
"Now I get to show you just how wonderful you are, like I have always wanted to, for as long as you will let me."
Jenny moved into the circle of his arms.
"Then I will get to show you how good you are, like I have always wanted to, for as long as you will let me."
Julian flashed a wolfish grin.
"Deal."
