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Julia wasn’t surprised to find Marina in her apartment. She wasn’t the type to ask before acting. What did surprise her was how right it felt for Marina to be there. She vaguely heard her own words echo around her head, “She’s not my Marina”, but it hardly seemed to matter. So far timeline 23 Marina really didn’t seem particularly different from her Marina save the lack of memories of their escapades. It still felt eerie though, not quite like looking at a ghost but similar in how something felt a bit out of place.
Passively Julia wondered if it was disrespectful to her departed friend to replace her with a carbon copy. Though, Julia reasoned, that’s probably the same thing Marina would have done in her situation. What else could she be expected to do? After all, new Marina (or is she old Marina considering her timeline is technically in the past?) has no one else to turn to and no place to go. She’s totally out of her element and probably doesn’t even have a place to live now.
“You just gonna stand by the door all day or are you planning on coming in at some point?” Marina turned to face Julia, one hand on her hip and the other gesturing vaguely in Julia’s direction. “I was just looking through your disappointingly bare liquor cabinet to mix up a few drinks”
Julia frowned and entered the room, the door closing behind her. “Yeah well I haven’t exactly had time to stock up- quest to save all the magic in the world and all” she walked up behind Marina and reached past her for a small well worn bottle of whiskey. Julia retreated to the couch with the whiskey bottle.
Marina slid onto the couch next to her and wordlessly extended her hand for the bottle. Julia coughed back an eye roll and took a long sip before handing Marina the bottle. She looked a little taken aback to have to wait her turn but didn’t protest and the girls proceeded to silently swap the bottle back and forth until it was empty.
Marina swirled the droplets at the bottom of the bottle lazily before dropping it to the coffee table. “So now that THATS taken care of,” she turned and was suddenly, or so it felt to Julia, impossibly close to her body on the couch. Marina’s sentence hung unfinished as her eyes appraised Julia’s body, lingering just a tad too long to try for subtlety. Julia’s face flushed with warmth and she was pretty sure it wasn’t all from the whiskey.
“We weren’t. It wasn’t like that” she tried but it came out soft and even she didn’t believe herself.
Marina smirked, ice blue eyes locked on Julia’s. She chuckled, a quiet lilting chuckle of disbelief. “Sure, honey. That I can see.” She leaned in closer and Julia worried she might faint. “But you know what else I see?” Julia shook her head, eyes fixed on Marinas. In a whisper Julia felt against the skin behind her ear more than heard, Marina declared “You want this”.
A shiver jolted down Julia’s spine straight to her core and she gasped involuntary at Marina’s words. Her thoughts raced to process her options- run? Admit Marina might be right? Use magic to freeze Marina and just hope she doesn’t remember later? But before she could decide Marinas lips were on hers, teeth hungrily nipping at the corners of her mouth and demanding more.
Julia heard herself moan and knew she was no longer in the position to make decisions. Her body couldn’t lie and it certainly didn’t want to run. Marina had been right. She was always right. It was one of the many irritating qualities about her. Julia had wanted this. Oh god did she want it.
“Wicker” Marina scolded, “Get out of your head, where are you?”
Julia sputtered at the sudden loss of contact. “I’m right here. I’m here Marina.” She grabbed Marinas hands in her own. “It’s just a lot. I lost you once already. It was the most horrible feeling, I - I could literally feel my insides shattering when I saw your body. And and now you’re here but you’re you but you’re also not you.”
Marina gave Julia’s hands a reassuring squeeze. “Julia shhh hey it’s okay. I get it. Okay? I do. Just, this is kind of like a do over right? And how many people get that chance? Maybe this is our gift for all the extremely shitty shit we had to put up with apparently like 40 times over.”
Julia choked back a laugh. “Yeah maybe. I don’t know Marina. It’s crazy.”
Marina sighed. “Sure is. Look I don’t even really know you at all where I’m from. But I feel drawn to you, there’s a connection. I feel it even now outside of my own timeline. Maybe that’s just it Jules. Maybe we’re just connected and we shouldn’t question it.”
Julia studied Marina’s eyes, finding nothing but honesty and affection. It was a bit of a surprise to see Marina looking so vulnerable. “I really missed you,” it comes out barely audible but Marina catches it.
“I wish I could know you, the way other me did.” A shy admission but one Marina felt was warranted.
Julia smirked. “Oh, I think you might get to know me,” she paused only to bring her face closer to her friends, “even better this time.” Her eyes met Marinas and she felt all her doubts melt away. Without another thought, Julia brought her hands up to cup Marinas face and gently guided her into a tentative kiss.
Marina gasped lightly, eyes fluttering shut as Julia’s lips ghosted over hers. She chased Julia’s lips with her own, deepening the kiss and moving to position herself slightly above Julia on the couch. Julia pulled back a bit and laughed, “Think you can dominate me that easily Andrieski?”
Marinas hand flew to her chest as she feigned innocence, “Moi? Try to dominate the all powerful Julia Wicker?” She grinned and pushed Julia onto her back on the couch. “Although...I don’t see you stopping me.” She trailed kisses down from Julia’s jaw along her neck eliciting a series of intoxicating sounds from her friend.
Julia writhed against Marina, lips finding any skin they could for more contact. “Who said I wanted to stop you?” She finally responded, catching Marina off guard just enough to capture her lips again.
Julia caught Marina’s lower lip between her teeth and bit gently, reveling in the moan it pulled from her. She stroked a stray hair away from Marinas face and kissed her again before pulling away to lace her fingers with Marinas. “Take me to bed” she whispered.
Marina shuddered, “Gladly”.