i know, you know, we know

Chapter 9

For a moment, Lisa actually forgets all the words in every language she speaks.

Jennie shuffles forward until she's a couple of feet away, and Lisa manages to let a shocked breath out her throat.

And then, all at once, her brain jumpstarts into action.

Lisa's first thought is a long, drawn-out litany of curses she will never be able to repeat to anyone out loud because it's downright embarrassing just how many swear words she knows in Thai and Korean and English and Japanese.

Jennie smiles something small and hopeful and beautiful down at her, and Lisa's second thought is a garbled mess of love in every language, including the ones she only bothered to learn on nights when her love for Jennie was too big for all four languages to capture.

When she finally manages to get the rest of her body working, the first thing she manages to say is, "I'm dreaming."

She's sure of it, too. Because there's absolutely no way in hell that Jennie's here, in Thailand, in the same park she brought her to years and millions of memories ago. Spontaneity is a luxury they don't have. But Jennie's shaking her head and reaching a hand out and Lisa grabs it without thinking. It's warm, her brain supplies the obvious. She's never warm in her dreams because Lisa was always the outsider, so far removed from the millions of happy endings her subconscious managed to come up with night after night, nap after nap.

Jennie's also trembling, and Lisa feels like it like it's her own. She pushes herself up to her feet before maybe-dream-Jennie can tug her up, compelled by the same weird connection they have that tells Lisa she's needed.

"I—" Lisa starts and then stops because Jennie's nails are digging into the back of her hand and it actually stings a little. It grounds her. "Jennie? I... Wha-Why are... How...?"

She trails off, not even realizing that she was stammering in Thai.

"As it turns out," Jennie explains, the sound of her voice shooting right through Lisa, "booking a flight to Thailand on Christmas is impossible. Believe me, I tried. I would have been here sooner but today is the only flight I could get on short notice. I also had to call about a hundred people before I was even allowed to book the said flight. Thankfully, our new CEO didn't need me to threaten resignation if she didn't give me this one leeway."

Lisa stares at her until a shy blush dusts Jennie's cheeks.

"You're here," she says dumbly, managing to remember her Korean.

Jennie nods resolutely like she hadn't just blown Lisa's mind to a million useless pieces. "I'm here."

Before she could ask why she's here, in Thailand, Jennie tugs on her hand. "There's so much I want to say to you, but I can't say any of it here. Can we go to your house?"

Lisa blinks because holy shit. "Yeah," she answers slowly before blinking again because holy fucking shit. "Yes," she says a little more firmly and resolutely ignores Jennie's amused smile. "Sorry, give me a minute. I'm still trying to... You're here."

Jennie nods again and squeezes her hand. "You're not dreaming. I'm here. You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get here, and I'll tell you all about it but just—"

Lisa moves purely out of the thought that Jennie might actually be here and she missed her like she's never missed anyone before. She pulls Jennie, rather abruptly, and hugs her. Jennie falls silent, and distantly, very, very distantly, Lisa takes satisfaction in the fact that she can still manage to surprise Jennie speechless even in her current state. Something in her chest slides back into place when Jennie immediately wraps both arms around her waist.