Work Text:
“T, for the last time, it wasn’t like that.” Cal paced her room, frustrated. She paused. “I know...” She sighed. “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” She closed her eyes and listened for a moment. “Ok. I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.”
She tapped a button on her phone and shoved it in her pocket. Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair and walked back over to her desk. Juliette looked down quickly, suddenly her homework was fascinating.
“It’s ok. I know you heard all that.” Calliope slumped down into her chair. “And I don’t care.” Jules looked at her friend on her laptop.
“Everything alright?” She asked. She was met with a sigh.
“Kinda? She just didn’t enjoy me comparing her to a vampire.” Juliette tilted her head to the side, looking at her curiously. “She slept in late a few days ago, so when she called, I joked that I oughta stake her for sleeping in that late.” Cal shrugged. Jules snickered.
“Because that will go over well with your hunter girlfriend who despises vampires.” She said dryly.
“She doesn’t hate vampires...” Calliope started. She was silenced by a wave. “Either way, I didn’t mean anything, but you know her.” She gestured with her hands, and Juliette nodded. She studied Calliope for a moment, her dark brown eyes were fixed on a point off-screen. They shone, even under the lamp light, still evoking mystery. Like you couldn’t quite tell what she’d do next.
Juliette was brought back to the present by the sight of Cal’s mouth moving. Trying to ask her something, but still forming a small grin.
“What?” She asked. Cal chuckled.
“I was just seeing how your paper is going.” She raised an eyebrow. “And by extension, if you’ve listened to the new Hayley Kiyoko album?”
“Not bad, still a paragraph left though.” Grumbling, Cal laid her head on her desk. “I’ll be done soon though! Promise.” Juliette snickered at her dramatics.
“Fine. But I’m holding you to that. You’re my only friend who listens to her, so you have an obligation. I’m getting impatient.” Calliope pointed a finger menacingly at her, though it was clear she was joking. Juliette winced at the word friend, being reminded she would never be Cal’s. She stared down at her paper, burning holes in it with her eyes.
“Just discuss it with your girlfriend then.” She muttered, scribbling out a typo vigorously. Cal laughed humorlessly.
“Can’t. She finds pop ‘too mainstream’.” Jules looked up. “She says I’m a stereotype.” Calliope looked up suddenly. “I’m sure she’s just kidding though.” She smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Juliette could tell it bothered her, but she decided not to push.
“Good thing you have me then. We can be stereotypes together.” Juliette smiled softly at her friend. “Hell, my favorite lesbian movie is D.E.B.S, pretty sure that’s as stereotypical lesbian disaster as it gets.” Calliope, to her surprise, erupted into laughter, and Juliette smiled at the sight. She almost asked Calliope why she was dating Tess and not her but stopped herself.
As Cal’s laughter quieted, Juliette felt herself warm as she noticed Calliope’s gaze fall to her face. She fought her growing blush, licking her lips. A comfortable silence permeated the call. She looked down at her notes, still feeling Cal’s eyes on her.
She began to write, glancing every now and then at her book. When she finally felt Calliope’s eyes leave her, she felt cold for some reason. Like a certain woman’s gaze was filling her body with flame and then all at once, it was gone.
She frowned down at her work. She wanted, no needed, Calliope to see her, not just notice her. She wanted to be looked at the way she looked at Cal. Like she’s her everything, her sun and stars.
-
A couple days later, Juliette awoke to a buzzing on her arm. She rolled over to find her phone, probably fallen from her hand as she fell asleep, lighting up with message after message. She turned to light her lamp and sat on the edge of the bed, yawning.
Cal 💛 : hey wanna go for a walk?
Cal 💛 : that was probably really weird out of context. just bored and need to get outta the house
Cal 💛 : Apollo is being extra insufferable today ರ╭╮ರ
Juliette smiled as she typed her response.
Jules 🧛🏻 : For sure! Let me just get my shoes. Meet at the park?
Cal 💛 : sounds good
She slipped on her sneakers and strolled out onto her parents' enormous lawn. As she crossed the street and neared the park, she noticed Calliope seated at a bench. Juliette skipped the rest of the way, before stopping in front of Cal.
“Hey.” She smiled down at her.
“Hi Jules. Thanks for joining me.” Calliope stood, becoming taller than Juliette once more. “Wanna do a lap around and come back here?” Jules nodded and offered her arm. She was surprised when Cal accepted, looping her arm in Juliette’s.
“So, what’s up?” Juliette noticed the tension in Cal’s shoulders and how her smile didn’t quite reach her face. She stopped them and turned to her.
“It’s nothing.” Cal said, avoiding Juliette’s gaze.
“Calliope...” There was a pause. Cal sighed.
“I guess…” She started, her hands falling to her sides. “I think Tess might be breaking up with me.” Juliette was quiet for a moment. She then pulled the taller woman into her arms.
“I’m sorry Cal. That must suck.” She said, mustering as much sadness as she could. They held the hug for a long moment, almost oddly long if Juliette thought about it. But as they continued walking, Calliope spoke.
“Sorta?” She muttered. “I feel like I should be more upset, but I don’t know.” She scratched her arm gently. “But I mean, I think it’s probably for the best. If she’s even gonna do it, that is.” Silence befell the pair. Their hands had joined somewhere along the walk, not that either minded. Cal looked down at their hands, she smiled softly at the sight.
Later as Juliette watched her friend stroll along, her long legs making it hard to keep up, she was struck with an overwhelming sense of yearning. She wanted to be the reason for that smile. Wanted to kiss that dumb grin off her face when she made a dumb joke. More than anything, she wanted to be able to admire the beauty that was Calliope without feeling shame or needing to look away. To commit each and every piece of her to memory and hold it away in safety, never to be forgotten. Her smile, her laugh, her eyes…. her heart.
-
* Days later*
Cal 💛 : hey, i know its late, but are you still up?
Juliette frowned. Calliope had never been a late night texter, given that her phone was always charging on the kitchen counter at 10pm. If anything, she would be up reading, but certainly not on her phone. She typed back quickly.
Jules 🧛🏻 : Yeah. What’s up?
Cal 💛 : tess and i broke up
Jules 🧛🏻 : Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry, Calliope.
Juliette shot up in bed. She bit her lip and tapped out ‘Are you ok?’ before realizing. ‘No, she's not ok, stupid’ She admonished herself.
Jules 🧛🏻 : How can I help?
Cal 💛 : can i come over?
Jules 🧛🏻 : Of course, Cal
It only took Calliope 10 minutes to walk to the Fairmont estate. She waited under Juliette’s window and opened her phone to text her.
“Psst!” She heard above her. She looked up to see Juliette smiling sadly down at her. She hiked up the siding of the house and clambered her way inside the window. The pair looked at one another for a moment, before sitting down on Juliette’s floor.
Juliette opened her arms and Cal let herself be pulled in. She sighed against Juliette’s shoulder and closed her eyes, letting herself be carried away by the comforting scent of Juliette’s lingering perfume.
Above her, Jules sighed as well and tightened her hold around the woman. “I’m so sorry Cal.” She felt Calliope's arms tighten. “Whatever you need, I’m here.” She ran a hand through her hair. There was silence for a moment, before Juliette heard a quiet.
“Thank you.”
-
“So that was that.” Cal shrugged. “She said we’re better off as friends. And don’t get me wrong, I agree, but she also kinda blamed me.” Juliette looked offended on her behalf, which Calliope smiled at. “She said my heart wasn’t in the relationship anymore, which it wasn’t, but I certainly wasn’t the only one.” Calliope sighed and let her head fall into her hands. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders.
“That’s not entirely fair of her.” Juliette frowned.
“I know right? And I mean with all the shit she’s been starting lately, I’m surprised she had the gall to say that.” Cal pouted, leaning into Juliette’s shoulder. The vampire chuckled.
“But hey, at least you’re out. You said your heart wasn’t in it, right?” She leaned her head on Calliope’s. The other woman nodded.
“Yeah, but it was still nice, you know? Affection and all that.”
Juliette tried to steady her breathing. She focused on the feeling of her back against the wall so as to not think about the fact Calliope was pressed up against her. She blinked hard a few times, reminding herself this was about Cal, not her stupid feelings. Rule # 1 of comforting a friend going through a breakup, do not offer yourself as a replacement for the affection they’re going to lose.
“Well, I’m here for hugs or cuddles or something… If you want, of course.” She paused. “Whatever you need Cal.” She said dumbly. Calliope smiled, out of Juliette’s view. She could feel the woman fidgeting with her hands, a nervous habit.
She sat up, letting Juliette’s arms fall between them. She smiled softly down at her friend. “Thanks Jules.” She scooted closer, opening her arms to hold her this time. Juliette felt herself blush as she slid her arms around Calliope once more. She rested her head gently on Cal’s upper chest, finding solace in the steady beat of her heart.
“Of course.”
“Whatever I need huh?” Cal said, pulling away to look at her with a teasing look. Juliette gulped and nodded. “Then I need to listen to Hayley Kiyoko with you.” Juliette rolled her eyes and pulled up the album. Cal watched her closely as she connected her headphones and passed her one.
The shorter woman then grabbed her hands as the opening chords of What I Need played and pulled her to her feet. She kept her hold as she wordlessly started to dance. Quite terribly, but Calliope found herself snorting and following suit.
The women danced around Juliette’s room, softly singing along, till the bridge began. Cal watched her friend, eyes closed, singing along and flailing her limbs to the beat. She smiled as Juliette opened her eyes, caught her staring and, to her surprise, simply took her hands once more to dance with her. She felt entranced by those blue eyes, low light shining in them, an easy smile on her face.
“What?” Jules asked. Calliope realized the song was over and she had been staring. She felt her face warm and looked away. A smile still made its way on her face.
“Just you.” She looked back at Juliette and was surprised at the look of wonderment she was met with. Juliette looked at her as if she had hung the moon, hanging on every word she spoke. “You always know how to make me feel better. How to make me laugh or smile.” She was suddenly very thankful for the low lighting as it gave her a tad more cover. She still figured Juliette could hear her heart exploding in her chest but hoped maybe she was too distracted.
Juliette was not, however. She grinned softly as she listened to Cal’s usually steadfast heartbeat whirling away. She was either lying, or nervous. She hoped she guessed correctly, or this would be embarrassing. She stepped closer, letting their bodies brush.
“Well, I’m glad. I feel like you haven’t been smiling as much. I missed it.” She said the last part quietly. Cal looked down at her, her eyes wide. They stared at each other for a while, neither knowing quite what to say. Calliope settled for simply pulling the shorter woman in for a hug. Once again holding her close, feeling her arms holding her. For tonight, that was enough.
-
Juliette flopped onto her bed. Pressing her phone back to her ear, she heard Ben noisily eating a sandwich. She huffed.
“I’m listening! I just want to eat dinner. Sheesh Letty.” He said between chews. “I’m guessing you’re back. So, continue.” Another crunch.
“There’s not much else. We talked and danced to a song. I kinda thought maybe she was gonna do something, but she didn't. Big surprise.” She grumbled. “I don’t know why I let you talk me into all this.” Ben sighed on the other end. “I don’t want false hope, Ben.” She heard a rustling for a moment.
“Letty. How long have you had feelings for her?” He started.
“Basically, since we met.”
“Right. And what do we do with our feelings?” Ben asked.
“Talk about them.” Juliette groaned. “I just don’t know if I can do it.”
“I know you can Jules. Besides, Cal isn’t the type to ditch you if you have feelings. Will things be weird? Maybe. But what do I always say? The people who mind, don’t matter. And the people who matter…” He smiled.
“Don’t mind.” She nodded to herself. “But if things are weird, will we be the same? It’s just risky, and I don’t want things to change." Juliette sighed and rested her head on her elbow. She was met with silence for a moment.
Ben chewed thoughtfully. “Well, there’s the big question then Letty." He paused, "Is she worth that risk?" Now it was Juliette’s turn to be silent.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a buzz from her phone. She looked at it for a moment.
Cal 💛 : hey, hoping you’re still up?
Jules 🧛: Yeah, what’s up?
Cal 💛 : come downstairs. i’m at your back door.
She froze. Reading over the texts once more, she leapt out of bed.
“Ben? Can I call you back? I gotta deal with something real quick.” She said quickly, pulling on her shoes.
“Sure?” He sounded confused. “I was gonna go to bed soon anyway. Are you ok? You sound off.”
“Yeah, just thinking over what you said.” She speed walked as quickly as she could while staying quiet. “Sleep well.” She hung up and made her way down the stairs and through the kitchen.
She threw open the back door, to see Cal standing there, pacing back and forth. She looked up as she saw Juliette walk out of the house.
“Hey.” Calliope said. She smiled for a moment, before an anxious look overtook her face. She twisted the golden rings on her fingers.
“Hey…” Jules gulped. “Everything ok?” She added after a pause. Calliope nodded. She started to run her fingers through her hair. Juliette stepped closer but stopped suddenly as Cal’s head gently turned to meet her gaze. They both stared for a long time, blue meeting brown.
“Wanna go for a walk?” Cal said sheepishly. “The moon is beautiful tonight.”
Juliette couldn’t help herself, she laughed. Calliope looked at her strangely for a moment, before nervously following suit. Jules wiped a tear from her eye and looked up at the tall woman. “Sorry. It’s just, you came over here to take a walk with me in the middle of the night?” She snorted. Stepping closer once more, she grabbed Cal’s hand and ran her thumb across the back. “You gotta admit, that’s a little funny.” Calliope relaxed at the gesture, her face splitting into a grin.
She watched Juliette carefully, almost reminiscent of those first few days of knowing one another. The only difference was, this time a rising undercurrent of longing threatened to wash her away. She felt her face warm as Jules pulled her along.
As the night breeze filtered through her worn jeans, Cal noticed Juliette stealing glances at her. “So anywhere specific in mind?” Calliope felt her daze break. She shook her head, silent. “Damn, so you just came over with no plan, huh? I must be rubbing off on you.” She nudged her playfully as they walked. Cal smirked and nudged her back, albeit with more force. Jules looked over at her, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She pulled away from Calliope briefly, before throwing her weight towards her, checking her in the side.
Cal felt her feet stumble, she rolled her arms towards her body as she descended. Soft grass greeted her, though the dirt beneath was firm. She let her head fall onto the ground with a deep giggle. Juliette stood above her, her hands covering her mouth, snickering.
She looked up at her, the moonlight surrounding her head like a halo. She snorted at the irony. As Juliette leaned down to extend her hand, a plan formed in Cal’s mind. She took the offered hand and yanked as hard as she could. This sent Juliette tumbling down after her, basically into her lap.
The smaller woman let out a surprised sound as she fell, making Calliope smile before the warm weight clobbered her. Her laughter rang clear and warm throughout the night air. Juliette raised her head, blushing madly. Cal leaned back to properly look at the vampire. She tucked a runaway strand of hair behind her ear as ocean eyes watched her carefully.
“Falling for me Jules?” Juliette let her head fall to Cal’s shoulder. The taller woman laughed. Warm arms surrounded her like a blanket.
“Shut up.”
The pair stood up, once again joining hands. They continued their stroll, if not a little closer together than before. Juliette shivered, the night air bit her exposed skin. Without a second thought, Cal peeled off her Lancaster academy sweatshirt, stopped them both, and pulled the hoodie over Juliette’s head.
The vampire flushed, she was definitely warm enough now. She flashed the hunter a grin and tugged gently on her hand to continue walking. She felt like if she stayed standing there, looking into Calliope’s eyes, she might explode.
Tearing her gaze away from the other woman, she looked up to the stars. She smiled softly as she found each constellation. Calliope watched for a moment, feelings bubbling up.
“You like the stars?” She asked. Jules looked over at her, giddy. She nodded. They found a bench and sat. Juliette once again looked towards the sky, before glancing at Calliope.
“They are one of the only things constant in my life. “She fiddled with Cal’s fingers. “When I was little and things were too much, I would sneak out of my room onto the roof.” She breathed out a sigh of relief. “And just… watch them till I felt better.”
“Which one’s your favorite?” She asked. Jules stared for a moment, her smile widening.
“Well, I always liked Andromeda. She’s right…there.” Juliette pointed to a cluster of stars. “Though her story is a tragedy, I guess I found solace in it.” Calliope looked confused for a moment before Jules continued. “So, she’s the daughter of Cassiopeia.” She pointed again to a simple jagged line of stars. “She’s known as the boastful queen, since she claimed to be more beautiful than anyone. Long story short, Poseidon, the god of the sea, sent a sea monster to kill her. So, her husband, Cepheus, asked for help to save her. He’s over there.” Cal followed her gaze to a vaguely house looking constellation. “And he was told, to save his wife, he must sacrifice Andromeda to the sea monster. And he did, he chained her to a rock. But luckily, she was saved by another god, Perseus. He’s over there somewhere.” She gestured with her head.
Throughout this, Calliope felt herself falling deeper and deeper. Juliette’s eyes shone in the moonlight, she gestured wildly with her hands, making her laugh. All at once, she knew, this was it.
“Sorry, I’m ranting. It’s a really weird story, but I just love it.” Juliette looked down at her feet, her hand going limp in Cal’s.
“No, it’s ok.” Calliope squeezed her hand. “I like listening to you talk. You’re so…passionate.” Jules ducked her head at the complement. “No seriously. Don’t feel bad, it’s honestly really cute.”
Both women froze. Juliette in shock that Calliope Burns had just said that. Calliope, at the fact she had admitted that.
“You mean that?” Juliette was breathless. She felt her heart beating out of her chest.
“Yeah.” Cal said lowly. “I think I've felt that way for a while.” She paused. “It’s just taken me a while to see that too.” Juliette was silent. “Is that ok?” More silence. She risked a glance at her.
Juliette was sitting there, listening to something. Her eyes flicked between Cal’s face and chest. She was listening to her heart. A small smile crept up her face. She met Cal’s eyes, an unashamed look of longing in them.
“Calliope...” She started. “Can I...” She trailed off. Cal nodded, moving closer. Her eyes flitted between Juliette’s and her lips. The smaller woman bit her lower lip before leaning in as well.
Juliette closed her eyes; she could feel Cal’s breath on her face. Light and cool. She waited a moment, snuck a glance at her and saw her waiting. Making eye contact, she nodded just a miniscule amount. That was the confirmation Cal needed.
She closed the last of the space between them, connecting their lips. Juliette sighed against her, her hands coming to rest lightly on Cal’s shoulder and hip. She smiled as she leaned back, letting Juliette chase her lips. Had to be sure she wanted this as much as she did. As Jules sped up the kiss, Calliope moved her hands from her hip to circle around her. She scooted closer to her on the bench and tucked her leg behind her to get as close as possible.
As the kiss lightened and eventually broke, the women rested their foreheads together. They both were gasping slightly, flushed faces pressed together. Cal felt herself smile widely; eyes still closed.
“Just to be clear,” Juliette took in a deep breath. “You like me, right?” Calliope snorted. She found Jules’ hands, took them in hers, and brought them up to gently kiss.
“Yeah..” She made sure to look Juliette square in the eye. “I like you. A lot actually. Like an embarrassing amount.” They both laughed at this.
“Really?” Juliette raised an eyebrow. “Do go on madam.”
Cal rolled her eyes. “Shut up.” She cupped Juliette’s face with her hands and leaned in.
“Gladly.” Jules smirked. She smiled into the kiss, running her thumb along Calliope's jaw.
As she broke from Juliette’s lips, Cal smiled. She knew she’d have to return home soon, and there was still homework to finish. But she didn’t care. All she could focus on was the feeling of Juliette’s kiss, her hand in Calliope’s, and the look of pure adoration in her eyes. This was all she’d been looking for the whole time.