We will never be a ending story

It had been a long week, while all the students were off on holiday Juniper still needed to make sure that her staff was preparing for the new semester. New schedule for the students’ classes needed to be sent out before starting in September.
It was Friday the 13th, a couple of days after the new moon, and she was absolutely exhausted. Even for the ancient forest fairy, a whole week of working overtime had taken a toll on her. Her fingers glided through her thick brown hair as she turned up the volume on the radio to help keep herself awake on the ride back to her cottage in Grounds of lily. Maybe she should get a small apartment in Aston, so she wasn’t so far away from her work these long weeks of work.
But alas, she had never gotten further than the thought of it being nice.

She suddenly slammed the breaks, as she saw a familiar figure turn a corner and walk down to one of the apartment complexes. A car behind her started hammering down its horn, but it was like the noise disappeared while her eyes looked at the man. Reginald? No, it couldn’t be, could it.
The last time she had seen him, she had promised she would be back. Just a quick pop down to help a man, that had ended with her being sold off to an arena. After so many years in captive she had all but lost hope to ever getting out, until she had met Tatia. A woman she had used, which had ended up showing its teeth not many months ago.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. “Rex” she breathed, she forgot about cutting of the engine, closing her car door as she took off running towards him. As soon as she came close enough, she recognized his aura, it really was him. Without much thought she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. "It really is you"

She had to pull him a little closer after the brief look into his eyes. Making sure that it wasn’t something she was dreaming, she had missed him so much. To the point where she had found a book about him, an old story about him as a hunter where she had visit him. But it was never the same because it wasn’t really the Reginald she knew.
This was, oh my god, this was really him.

A happy sob left her as her nose glided into his hair and took a deep breathe in. His scent, his touch. “It’s really you” she whispered, finally gliding out of his embrace to place her hands on each side of his face and hold it in place. “I” - A horn blared again, and Juniper looked at the road with a sigh, okay, alright. She could see how that was a bad idea just stopping like she had done. “Don’t, don’t go anywhere” she begged giving him an apologetic smile and turned and ran towards the car to get it out of the way for the other people.

She quickly got it out of the way, luckily for her there was a parking lot not far from where he had been walking. After closing the car she ran back towards Reginald, clearly not knowing what foot to stand on. How could it be, after so many years where hadn’t had any idea where he had been.

So many things had happened.

As she turned around the corner and looked at him. As she before just had run into his arms, she wasn’t really sure how to behave this time around. “Hi” she said and took a deep breath in, looking at him.

Her hands placed on his chest as she looked up at him into his beautiful ocean eyes, with slight hint of sun in them. Oh, how she loved and had missed them.
A soft laugh left her as he asked her if it was to bold to ask if she wanted to join for dinner in his apartment. There was nothing she wanted more.
The smile forming on her lips became bigger and it was very clear from just looking at her facial expression that she loved that he asked her, but even more so in the manner that he chose to do.
“If that didn’t already make you sound like a thousand years old” she teased and took in a deep breath, feeling how her chest rose and fell again.
“I would love nothing more than to join you for dinner” she whispered not really wanting to let him go. But she didn’t have anywhere to go tomorrow, so she could push her tiredness away and spend time with him.

She waited for him to lead her towards the apartment that he lived in. Which wasn’t that far away, how lucky she had been to see him just before he had disappeared into the complex hallway.
Juniper watched his back, but quickly got her mind distracted when a few drops landed on her face. Rain? She looked up and just as she did it was like the sky opened up, and before she could say anything rain poured down on them. A laugh of pure joy left her “hurry!” she exclaimed and helped him push open the door to get them both in.
Her hair was the only thing that had taken much of the rain that had fallen down on them while he had opened the door into the stairway.

She looked out the window in the door and saw how the rain just kept coming down relentlessly. “We were lucky” she breathed out and turned towards him, her eyes lovingly grazing his features of his face. Again, she was struck with how much she had missed him. There was always the small period of time where they needed to figure out where they had each other. Had they found new people to share their life with or were they both in-between other lovers. Which was the main reason she hadn’t already kissed him yet. For now, she was just happy with seeing and talking with him again. Especially since so many things needed to be said.

She felt that well-known spark form in her heart, as his hand grabbed hers and started pulling her along to where his apartment was. Very curious she looked inside the space that he called his own, the smile grew bigger as she saw small plants standing around. The smile grew even bigger as he told her that it wasn’t his usual, she knew. She had been there throughout multiple changes of housing. One more magnificent than the other. But this? It felt like him, she could feel him in this and even the smallest of places could be the most beautiful ones.
“You know what?” she mused and turned towards him as he started finding cutlery and plates for their dinner. “This seems like the most you, of all the places I’ve seen you live in” she said with a big smile. He had just said there was a story, and she was dying to know.

She made a small nod as he asked if butter chicken was alright. “I’ve been working since six in the morning till know, anything would be a feast for me at this point” She walked towards him in the kitchen and leaned up at one of the pillars. “Something I can help you with?” she asked watching him move around. She had took take in a deep breath to calm herself, how she had missed this.

“You got a boy?” she said with the biggest smile on her lips as her eyes glisten with affection. She knew that getting a family hadn’t always been on Reginald’s top five things he needed to do before time ran out. When you didn’t die of old age there was that clock ticking inside of your head. Even as Juniper always had the dream of having her own children and raising them with someone she loved. But just like so many other things, it had never really succeeded for her.

She made a small nod as he said that he needed to tell her about this Nigel. But just by the way his face lit up, she knew just what kind of feelings Rex harboured about the person. You couldn’t fake that fatherly love that shone through.

Entertain him. She let out a breathe as the smile vanished a little, so many stories and some of them weren’t very pleasant. “I’m the headmaster of the university here in Aston” she started “And I live in a small cottage by Grounds of Lily, my own little oasis, where I live with Claude Bob” she shook her head as to tell him it wasn’t what he thought “His this old ghost, a really grumpy fart that just don’t want to leave” she laughed and shrugged “So I let him stay, mostly because he gives a sort of company when you would otherwise live alone” she explained putting an added pressure on her being alone.

“Rex” she tried to catch his attention, and walked towards him, before she hoisted herself up on the counter, just leaving enough space for him to work and prepare the dinner. “I, never meant to leave like that” she said as a sad smile formed on her lips. “That night, it all went horribly fast and there is a lot about it I don’t really want to reminisce, just, I didn’t have the opportunity to come back – and when I finally got free, so many years had passed and when I tried to find you, it was like you had vanished from the face of the earth” she sucked in her bottom lip and grabbed it with her teeth before her blue-green eyes found their way towards him.

She didn’t really take his question to heart; it was a fair question. “Sometimes” she whispered about the part of her being lonely. She didn’t have a lot of people visiting her these days. She tried to find time to see Daisy, since they didn’t live that far from each other. But as everything else, time never really seemed to add up, and days turned into weeks and weeks into months and so on. So yes, at times Juniper felt incredible lonely.

Juniper’s brows pressed together as Rex started telling her about what had happened. “What?” her mouth being too quick for its own good and saying what she thought right away. So, this kid’s father had just decided to lock him away?
“He, what..” Juniper was mostly known as the sweet next-door girl. People that had known her longer, also knew she was a dangerous fighter that didn’t hesitate in killing people that wronged her or hurt the people she loved. She had raised hell in Asia. Helping slaves being free. She could feel that small tingle in just finding the person that locked Reginald away, leaving him in one of the worst prisons there was in the world. Before she could stop herself, she had jumped down and walked over, letting her hand find his cheek and turned it towards her so she could look into his eyes. She just looked into his eyes, and then she made up her mind, letting the hand glide from his cheek to the back of his head and pulled him into a lingering kiss. It was always like feeling electricity storm through her body when she kissed him. Always kept her begging’ for more.
But after a short period of time, she pulled back and licked her lips, opening her eyes again looking into his. “I’m sorry” she whispered and took a step away from him letting her fingers glide over her lips. Both for just kissing him, but also that he had to go through that.

She looked at him as he took in what had just happened.
Funny how sometimes you knew someone better than you knew yourself. Her signature smile formed on her lips, as he told her that he had missed it. So had she. By the gods she had missed him. Funnily enough he said the same words she thought looking at her. Just his gaze was enough to wake that fire in her, that ached for more than just his lips on hers. But she kept standing there for a moment, taking him in, taking in the feeling of being together again. She didn’t care what the future had in store, or if there again would be a time where they wouldn’t be able to stay together. But there had to be a reason why they always ended up finding each other.

“I’ve missed you too” she said not being able to keep the smile from her lips. “There are more where those came from, if you want” she teased with a glint in her eye. For a time, she just stood there, taking him in, understanding that they were indeed here. That it wasn’t just a dream, or something she imagined because her day had been long, and she could feel that ache in her heart from missing him. Whenever it had happened in the past, she had always just found him again. But this time around, she hadn’t been able too, afraid that it had been the last time she had seen him when she had kissed him goodbye and told him she would be back later.
Finally back together, as they should be.

“Water would do just fine” she said, just about to move around him and help with getting the things over to the table by the sofa. His hand caught her by surprise, and she let her eyes glide back towards him as it slowly traced over her cheek. She stood still for a moment as he turned around to grab his own plate and a bottle of beer for himself before walking towards the couch area. She finally took a glass and filled with water before walking towards the couch where Reginald had sat down.

Juniper started with taking a small sip of water and slowly nodded her head as he asked about her being the headmaster. She put down her glass and let her fingers glide over her lips while looking straight into nothing, he had told her that he had been in prison in Nepal, then he would understand what she had been through.
“Where you can cross of Nepal prison, I can cross off being in an arena where you fought for your life, or you died” she took in a deep breath and kept that signature smile on her lips before looking down at the food he had made for them.  
“After getting out, it was like I had this fear in me, all-consuming, and I just looked at my weapons with a feeling of despair that I had never had before… and knew that I wasn’t going to be able to pick up arms any time soon as I had done so many times before” she shrugged and let her fork stab down on a piece of chicken  “people didn’t need healers in the way they had done before, so I, started a new education and now I’m here” she said and finally let her eyes met with his again.  “And it has been really good to do something else, something new” she mumbled not being able to pull her eyes off him – again hit by the feeling on how much she had missed him.

She leaned back in the sofa and placed a hand on his shoulder, as he said he was sorry that she had to go through that. “Well, It shaped me just like everything else we have been through in our very long life” she said, sometimes she was amazed herself how well she adjusted to the fact that she was always changing. How some memories were painful, but she still understood that the pain was momentarily and she would get through it as so many other things.
“It was burned to the ground and destroyed some years ago, so at least it isn’t something I need to fear any longer”

She leaned over and grabbed a bite to eat, which she had forgotten everything about while they had talked about her past and why she had decided to become a headmaster. “I really love it, helping people with magic, finding their power and make a lot of younger people brighter” she had always loved helping people by sharing what she knew. So, it had come so natural to her.
She chewed quickly as he asked her if she was seeing anyone. A smirk formed on her lips. She could tease him, draw it out, but after she had kissed him, it was very hard to even pretend that she had eyes for someone else.
“No” she told after she had swallowed. “I don’t have anyone like that in my life” she said leaning back in the sofa, placing an arm on the backrest turning her body towards him. Her head placing itself in her hand “Do you, have someone in your life?” The multicoloured eyes drinking him in, waiting for his response.

That smile that he gave her as she told him that she wasn’t seeing anyone. It couldn’t be described. It was like every fairy-tale story. Like every great love poem and song all in one. That special someone’s smile that could melt everything away. Every hardship. All the lonely nights. For all the times that a heart had been broken. Such a smile could mend everything. That had also been when she had known, he had been hers. That greatest love that they all wrote and talked about. Even besides her ex-wife, and all the other beautiful stories she had with ex-lovers. Nothing could compare with what she had shared with Rex.

Reginald Rief

She placed her thumb by her lips and a small giggle left her as he asked her, if she wanted to be a part of his life again. “Very, very smooth Master Rief” she teased but then made a small nod with her head. She moved a little closer to him and her fingers danced over his cheek before gliding behind his ear, feeling his hair between her fingers.
“I would love to be apart of your life again” she whispered letting her eyes glide over his face only to let them linger on his lips before settling on looking into his eyes. The smile never leaving her. She had totally forgotten about the food on the plate, as he had taken up every thought in her head.

Her eyes glided halfway shut as he leaned closer almost letting their lips touch. Only to turn away and put his fork with a piece of chicken in his mouth. She pulled away, mouth hanging open for a short minute before it turned into a massive smile, and she started laughing. She folded her hand into a fist and punched him playfully on side of the shoulder. His stupid little act almost made her feel like a teenager. Such a sobby teen romance. Maybe that was what she loved so much about being in his company. He always took away her worries. Replaced it with what ever it was they were sharing in the moment. For all the tears, the screams. The sad and the good times. He had always made her feel like the only person in the whole world that mattered in that moment. Even for all the times they had ended up walking away, something or someone drew them back together.

But that didn’t mean that she didn’t feel like he was a massive dick for that move. Even though a lovable one at that.

“You absolutely jackass, and here I thought!” she couldn’t help herself from laughing and shook her head and leaned away from him, placing herself further away in the sofa and grabbed her plate and started putting food into her mouth. She wasn’t about to let him get away with his little stunt that easily.

“Hey I was actually eating that, thank you very much!” Juniper grinned as he took her plate away, looking at him seeing what his plan was now, only to let out a delighted squeal as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her up on his lap. She moved around a little, which at first could be seen as a way to get out of his arms. But more her trying to get as comfortable as she could. She narrowed her eyes and pushed her brows together, to show him that she wasn’t going to let him of the hook that easy, only to be met with; Don’t give me that look.
A joyous laugh left her, and she had to close her eyes while shaking her head softly.

She placed her arms around his neck, letting her hands play with his hair as he told her that he had missed her. “Well clearly not enough, since you can still tease me like that” she teased him but the smile had subdued in strength. She leaned towards him as well, only to place a hand between them. “So you think you’re getting a kiss now?” she made a click with her tongue and shook her head “No-can-do’s-ville, babydoll” as she removed her hand and as she did her thumb glided over his bottom lip.

Juniper narrowed her eyes lovingly as Rex told her, then he just had to steal her kisses if she wasn’t giving them to him. That he did took her by surprise, and a laugh bobbled from her throat as she leaned it back and shook her head. Her long brown locks dancing around her back, before she looked back at ham.
It was like mood subdued into something more quiet, intimate even. Her eyes glided over his face as he slowly whispered against her lips that maybe this time, he would actually marry her. Even though he had asked before, even as they had prepared and talk about their wedding. It never became anything less special when he told her that.
“Nothing can pull me away this time” she said with a low voice while her finger slowly glided over his cheeks. Last time she had thought, that, that was it. That would be the time where she would never leave him, and she would for the first time put herself and his happiness before everybody else. But someone else had taken that promise away from her and turned it into something ugly. Never again.
Just as she had done before she pulled him into a kiss. But this time it was slow, tranquilizing. To show that they had all the time in the world this time. Maybe they didn’t know what would happen tomorrow. But she wasn’t going to rush it, just for the mere thought at something might happen.

“I love you” she breathlessly said before letting their lips meet once more.